To Be Different
by SaturnXK
Summary: Cold and apathetic, they are the perfect guards. They take their job seriously and do it ruthlessly, but when nine ANBU enter the world of magic, will the wizards view the shinobi as cold-blooded killers, or will they look underneath the underneath? – HP Book 5. AU. OOC-ness. Cliched storyline. (read at your own risk because it sucks.) [COMPLETE]
1. Mission

**[Edit (30 November 2013): Okay everyone. This bit should be read and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it in mind even though it's very long I'm sorry. **

**This story is like really shit and I sort of regret ever writing it. You'll soon realise that yes, it's very cliched and poorly thought out and ugh you cringe just reading through the lines that have been recycled through again and again and again. Yes, I'm aware of this. And I really do not appreciate any sort of sassy comment like the irritating 'You lost me at _In the wizarding dimension_' or 'What the fuck why is Gaara here' or 'How the fuck does this work' or anything along those lines. Please keep your annoying anonymous comments that do not contribute anything to the intelligent world to yourselves. Hell you anonymous people don't even let me reply back to update you on my current fiasco just like leaving me there head-desking because for God's sake, I _know _this story is a mess. If you don't like the story or it makes you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, just fucking click the back button, okay? And I don't need constructive criticism for this either because I've strangled myself metaphorically like a million times already over the ridiculousness over this, so thank you for your intended acts of good, but it's okay. Believe me, I'm my own worst critic and I replay every flaw in here to a very heightened degree and strangers bringing it up in the comments pours lemon juice in the wound.  
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**Alright I'm done now hopefully I've scared you off and you won't ****continue to spoil your innocent eyes by reading this story. To note: I'm actually a very nice person but this story has just sort of gotten on my last nerves.]**

**Ninja involved: Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Kiba (and Akamaru), Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Sakura.**

**All seventeen, Neji and Tenten eighteen. Slight romance-y moments. Nothing more, nothing less.**

**This is set in the fifth book of HP, namely _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_.**

**My disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except for this fic. No, not even the characters.**

**So, may I present to you Chapter One: Mission**

* * *

><p>"What's the mission?" a teen in a fox mask asked, his voice quiet. The Fifth Hokage looked at him sharply.<p>

"A guarding mission," Tsunade said. "Can't tell you any more, just wait for the others to arrive."

"Hai."

Seven _poofs_ were heard, and when the cloud of smoke cleared, ANBU ninja stood erect and in a line, silent. A second later, there was a swirl of sand, and the Kazekage appeared.

"Fox, Slug, Raccoon, Cat, Dragon, Hawk, Stag, Wolf, Dove, you are all here because I have a mission request, and I believe you are the best candidates," Tsunade said. She turned to Raccoon. "Are you alright with leaving Suna with Kankuro as acting Kazekage?"

"Yes," Raccoon replied softly. Tsunade nodded.

"Alright, the mission briefing," she said. "In the wizarding dimension, a wizard by the name of Dumbledore Albus has sent me a mission request to send about six to ten high level ninja to guard his school. A dangerous wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort has risen to power once again, and is threatening the wizarding dimension.

"Your job is to guard the school, as well as protect a boy named Harry Potter, who is prophesized to bring down Voldemort and restore peace. You _must_ keep the boy safe, because if he dies, Voldemort will rule the wizarding world, and it won't be long before he hears of other dimensions. He may even come to the Ninja Continent, and we can't risk that. We are all still recovering from our losses from the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"You are to remain in full ANBU gear; I do not exactly wish for you to unmask yourselves, but if you really want to, you can take them off _only_ after you have been at Hogwarts for six months. This is a mission that will last a year. It has been a while since the wizarding dimension has contacted us, and so you will all represent the Ninja Continent, and I expect you to do your best. Is that clear?"

Tsunade eyed the nine shinobi, who gave her stiff nods.

"Do you accept this mission?"

One by one, they all said, "I accept".

"Good," Tsunade said. "Fox is captain for this mission. Go and pack; you all have exactly _one hour_ before you have to leave. Don't you dare be late!"

* * *

><p>"Guards?" Harry repeated. "Guards? I don't need guards!"<p>

"Calm down, Harry," Sirius Black, his godfather said. "Let us explain."

Harry Potter had just arrived at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. After a heated one-sided shouting match upstairs with Ron and Hermione, they had all gone down to dinner after the meeting was finished. At the table, Sirius had just told Harry about the ninja guards.

"Voldemort has risen, Harry," Lupin said quietly. "And he's after you; you need all the protection you can get."

"But, _guards_?" Harry said furiously. "I can take care of myself!"

"I'm sure you can," Sirius said. "But Dumbledore wants this, Harry."

Before he could say another word, there was a whizzing noise, and suddenly, nine strange people appeared into their midst.

_"Kami-sama, nani gada?"_ (1)

_"Watashi wa kanjite byoki ni sukoshi."_

_"Are mo ga kokodesu ka?"_

_"Hai."_

_"Dare mo ga itaidesu ka?"_

_"Koko de, kuraianto gadesu ka?_

_"Karera wa daredesu ka?"_

The foreign language exchanged by these people was quiet and brisk. They stepped into the light to find about half a dozen wands trained on them.

_"Nani?"_ one of them whispered. Harry had his wand pointed at them as well.

"Death Eaters," he hissed.

"Calm down people," a voice growled. Mad-Eye Moody stumped into the room. "These are the ninja guards."

"What?" Sirius asked, flabbergasted. "They look like Death Eaters! Are you sure they're not in league with Voldemort?"

"Look carefully at them," Moody growled. Harry stared, and found that he was right. Their masks were in the shape of snarling animals, and they wore black clothes and grey armour. A few carried scrolls, they all had some kind of sword tied to their backs and one of them had a type of gourd strapped to his back.

"_What are they saying?"_ Wolf asked, his feral eyes trained steadily on the wizard in front of them, the one with a strange whizzing blue eye.

Fox stepped forward.

_"Dumbledore,"_ he said clearly, hoping that they would understand. To his relief, understanding shone brightly in the wizards' and witches' eyes.

Moody pulled out his wand, and the ninja tensed. Hawk flashed behind him, a kunai to his neck. The watching wizards gasped and re-pointed their wands at him.

_"What are you doing?" _Hawk hissed. Of course, Moody didn't understand what was said, but he got the gist of it.

_"Relax,"_ Moody said in badly pronounced Japanese, _"I am simply casting a spell over you so you can understand us."_

Hawk slowly took the kunai away from his neck. Moody took that as a confirmation to proceed, and with a few muttered words, he cast the spell over them.

"Can you understand us now?" Moody asked.

"Yes," Fox said.

"This spell enables you to speak and understand English, as well as retaining your Japanese," Moody said.

Harry couldn't take his eyes off the ninja. The speed in which Hawk moved behind Moody was unbelievable.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered. "_They're_ the ones guarding you?"

Hermione was staring at them with a shocked look on her face. Apparently she was more worried about the weapons they carried and how they used them.

"This is your charge," Moody grunted, jabbing a finger at Harry. "I believe your leader has briefed you on the rest of your… er, mission?"

"Yes," Fox said coolly. He turned his face towards Harry, and the boy didn't like the way his eyes probed him, sizing him up. Those eyes… they were cold, much too cold. Finally, they were turned away.

"My name is Fox. I am captain." Fox had blonde hair, and from what Harry could see of his eyes, they were sky blue.

"Raccoon." Raccoon had blood red hair and jade green eyes.

"Slug." Slug, strangely, had pastel pink hair and emerald green eyes.

"Cat." She had long blue hair with bangs that framed her masks and curiously pearly coloured eyes that had no pupils.

"Dragon." Dragon had chocolate brown eyes and brown hair that was tied in two twin buns on either side of her head.

"Hawk." Hawk had long coffee brown hair and the same eyes as Cat.

"Stag." His black hair was tied up in a ponytail that greatly resembled a pineapple.

"Wolf." Wolf had spiky brown hair and slitted eyes. By his side was an enormous white dog. "This is Akamaru."

"Dove." Dove was a blonde girl whose hair was tied up in a high ponytail with a long fringe that covered half of her mask. She had sapphire eyes.

"My name is Moody," the ex Auror growled.

"Remus Lupin."

"Tonks."

"Sirius Black."

"… Harry Potter."

"Ron Weasley."

"Hermione Granger."

"Molly Weasley."

"Arthur Weasley."

"Bill Weasley."

"You will meet the rest of the Order members later," Moody said. The ninja said nothing.

"I'll, erm, show you to your rooms, shall I?" Mrs Weasley said hastily as silence descended upon them. "There you can get unpacked, and… and everything."

Harry realised that the shinobi were only carrying packs, and wondered how those backpacks could equip them with everything they needed for a year.

"Come on…"

The ninja left the room, and when they did, it seemed as though the temperature rose up a little again.

"I don't like them," Harry said to Ron and Hermione. "Did you see their eyes?"

The other two nodded, not being able to say what they saw, because it could not really be put into words without it sounding strange.

Their eyes were filled with too much darkness. They were bottomless, empty, and they frightened Harry.

* * *

><p>Raccoon sighed on his bed, his green eyes staring up at the ceiling.<p>

The house reeked of decay and misuse, and Raccoon didn't like it. He decided to read the mission scroll given to them before they left to keep his mind off things, such as his hidden worry over Temari and Kankuro back in Suna. There was a knock on his door, and Slug opened it.

"Raccoon, dinner is ready," she said. "Come down."

Raccoon slipped off his bed and joined the pink haired girl.

"What do you think of Potter-san?" he asked as they walked down the stairs. Slug shrugged her shoulders.

"He seems a little… childish? Dove probed into the mind of Granger-san and Weasley-san and found out that just before we arrived, Potter-san shouted at his friends because he felt left out," Slug said. "And I _know_ that it's an invasion of their privacy," she added, catching Raccoon's look, "but it's for the mission."

"Yeah," Raccoon murmured. "I know."

Dinner was awkward.

Normally the wizards and witches were extremely chatty and liked to laugh a lot, but in the presence of the ninja, it seemed as though a blanket of silence fell on top of them and no one was willing to lift it off.

Raccoon stared at the food on his plate, and then lifted his mask slightly so that nothing more than his mouth was showing. A second later, the meal vanished. Those who were watching him almost choked on their food. Raccoon replaced the mask again and sat there.

_Why isn't anyone talking?_ Raccoon wondered. _Are they all normally this quiet?_

"When does the school term start?" Cat asked into the silence, having finished her food as well. The magical folk, having heard her voice for the first time, were surprised to hear how sweet it sounded.

"About a month or so," Hermione said. "It starts on the first of September."

No one talked after that, and when everyone had finished, they all just stared at one another.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Mrs Weasley, standing up to clear the dishes.

"Not just yet, Molly," said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Where seconds before it had been awkwardly silent, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had one around the table at the mention of Voldemort's name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary.

"I did!" said Harry indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so -"

"And they're quite right," said Mrs Weasley. "You're too young."

She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched on its arms, her face livid.

"Since when does someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-"

"Hang on!" interrupted George loudly.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" said Fred angrily.

"_We've_ been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a stinking thing!" said George.

"_You're too young, you're not in the Order_," said Fred, in a high pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius calmly, "that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand –"

"It's not up to you to decide what's good for Harry!" said Mrs Weasley sharply. The expression on her normally kind face looked dangerous. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" Sirius asked politely, but with the air of a man readying himself for a fight.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he _needs to know_," said Mrs Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words.

"I don't intend to tell him more than he _needs to know_, Molly," said Sirius. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back he has more right than most to –"

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" said Mrs Weasley. "He's only fifteen and –"

"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," said Sirius, "and more than some."

"No one's denying what he's done!" said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But he's still –"

"He's not a child!" said Sirius impatiently.

"He's not an adult either!" said Mrs Weasley.

She was about to continue before a cough broke the two of them out of their glaring contest.

"We're still here," Stag drawled.

"So tell me, what _has_ Potter-san done to be treated this uniquely?" Wolf asked, his voice mocking. "After all, you two are even fighting over him, and he seems to receive special treatment, allowing him to get information from you guys while his friends stay in the dark."

Harry bristled at the way Wolf worded his sentences. It was as if he was scorning him.

The other people at the table seem to jerk in surprise as well.

"Let's start the highly coloured life story of Harry Potter, shall we?" Dove said, her voice sarcastic. "After all, we need to know about our charge and the world he lives in, don't we?"

The magical folk hesitated and glanced at each other, and the finally to Harry.

"Alright," Harry said.

"Fifteen years ago, a wizard by the name of Voldemort reigned supreme," Sirius said. "He terrified the wits out of the wizarding world, and everyone feared him. His name was known everywhere, but people did not speak it out loud; they treated it like a taboo. They still do, even now.

"Voldemort came for Harry's parents when Harry was a baby. He killed his father, James Potter, and his mother, Lily Potter. When he tried to kill Harry, he couldn't, for some reason. The spell backfired onto him, and he was left powerless and fled. Harry then became known as 'The Boy Who Lived'."

"I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin," Harry said, taking up the story. "They… didn't like me. When I was eleven, I was admitted into Hogwarts. In my first year, I faced Voldemort for the first time. He had entered the body of a teacher, and tried to kill me. I got away.

"In my second year, Voldemort released the Basilisk in our school. It petrified a few students. I killed it.

"In my third year, I found out that Sirius was my godfather.

"In my fourth year, I got entered into the Triwizard Tournament. During the third task, I was transported to a graveyard. There, Voldemort gained his own body. He had risen again. There, a fellow champion named Cedric Diggory was killed."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"You know, I was only joking," Dove said wryly. "I didn't exactly want to hear your life story."

**(A/N I'll let you imagine how embarrassed Harry was feeling after she said that)**

"So… you've only seen one death?" Dragon asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. The way she said it… was unsettling. It was as though she was almost disappointed to find that he had only seen one person die.

"Oh," Dragon said.

"Okay Harry… what do you want to know?" Sirius asked, trying to draw them all back to the subject at hand. Mrs Weasley, still angry, sent Ginny off to bed.

"Where's Voldemort?" Harry said, ignoring the renewed shudders and winces at the name. "What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything."

"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet," said Sirius, "not as far as we know, anyway… and we know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," said Lupin.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked. He knew Voldemort had murdered more than once in the last year alone.

"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself," said Sirius. "It would have been too dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or rather, you messed it up for him," said Lupin, with a satisfied smile.

"How?" Harry asked perplexed.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" said Sirius. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the last person he wanted to alert to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," said Lupin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?" Harry asked.

"Are you kidding?" said Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of!"

"They don't say his name, so they say You-Know-Who instead?" Raccoon muttered to Fox.

The ninja had sat there in silence as they gave Harry more and more information, looking on stonily.

"That's enough!"

Mrs Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

"I want you in bed, now. All of you," she added, looking around at Fred, George, Ron and Hermione.

"You can't boss us –" Fred began.

"Watch me," snarled Mrs Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Anymore and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" said Harry quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."

"Hell no."

It was not Mrs Weasley who spoke this time, but Fox. Harry glared at the guard.

"From what I've heard, this is dangerous for the likes of you," Fox said softly, his eyes steely. "You believe you can fight? You haven't even finished your schooling yet, and you want to join an organization against one of the greatest wizards in your world? I don't think so. You have no idea what the world is like outside. And if you join, we're going to have an even harder time watching your back."

"Too troublesome," Stag muttered.

"I think they're right, Harry," Lupin said. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you… I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius half-shrugged back but did not argue. Mrs Weasley beckoned imperiously to her sons and Hermione. One by one they stood up and Harry, recognizing defeat, followed suit.

Mrs Weasley followed them upstairs looking grim.

"I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking," she said as they reached the first landing.

"All right, Ron, Harry," said Mrs Weasley on the second landing, pointing them into their bedroom. "Off to bed with you."

Mrs Weasley closed the door behind Harry with a sharp snap. Ron changed and turned off the light. Harry climbed into bed.

"Anyway," Ron said, "_what d'you reckon?_"

Harry didn't need to ask what Ron meant."Well, they didn't tell us much we couldn't have guessed, did they?" he said. He was about to continue, when suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise; there was another presence in the room.

"Stop talking," whispered a voice out of the gloom. Harry and Ron tried not to yelp as they spotted Raccoon standing at the foot of their beds. His mask stood out from the black. It was a little eerie to see a raccoon floating around in the darkness.

When Raccoon was sure that Harry and Ron would not talk again, he vanished. Ron's wide eyes stared from his bed to Harry's.

They dared not talk again, and it wasn't long before Harry fell asleep.

The shinobi stayed downstairs after their charge and his friends had gone to bed. Raccoon had gone up once to check on them, and then returned.

_"Fox, have you received word from Hokage-sama about the Akatsuki?"_ Wolf asked. Fox shook his head.

_"No. Besides, it's too soon," _Fox said.

_"Fox, they're after you,"_ Slug said, her voice cool, but there was a tiny trace of worry in her voice.

_"They don't know about the different dimensions,"_ Stag said. _"So it might take a while for the Akatsuki to realise that Fox isn't even on the Ninja Continent anymore."_

_"Right now, we have to worry over this Voldemort,"_ Cat said quietly.

_"We haven't even met our client yet,"_ Dove said, her soft voice laced with annoyance.

_"I'm sure we will,"_ Dragon said, _"either during our stay here or at the school."_

_"I hear the kids talking,"_ Hawk said coldly. _"Should I go shut them up?"_

_"Go ahead,"_ Fox said with a sigh. _"Alright, the rest of you please go to sleep. I'll watch the house tonight."_

After quiet murmurs from his team, Fox was left alone in the sitting room. The other wizards and witches had all left already or gone to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>There you go, Chapter One. How did I go?<strong>

**(1)**

"**_What was that?"_**

"**_I feel a little sick."_**

"**_Is everybody here?"_**

"**_Yes."_**

"**_Is anyone hurt?"_**

"**_Where's the client?"_**

"**_Who are they?"_**

**I Google Translate-ed this and I apologise if the wording is a little incorrect. I know Google Translate is kinda dodgy.**

**I'm pretty sure a lot of people have been turned off by the first chapter. If so, I thank you all for reading this far. If not... well, thanks for reading as well!**


	2. The Hearing and Hogwarts

**Hello again. **

**Alright, some people have questioned why Gaara is in this fic. And yes, I do recognise that that is a plot hole. After all, he is Kazekage and everything and shouldn't be going to missions and all that blah. **

**The truth is, I am a disorganised writer with a bad case of fangirl-ness and I simply wanted Gaara to be in this fic. So let's just say it's a joint mission, okay? And if that brings up yet another plot hole… then… I'm just gonna use the 'this is fanfiction' excuse. Yeah, I already told one reviewer that I didn't have a really good reason for Gaara being here. Unless you guys really don't want him here, review and I'll take him out of the story or something.**

**Uh... and also, the ninja continent and the wizarding world are two different dimensions.**

**Just in case people still don't get it…**

**Naruto – Fox**

**Sakura – Slug**

**Ino – Dove**

**Neji – Hawk**

**Tenten – Dragon**

**Hinata – Cat**

**Gaara – Raccoon**

**Shikamaru – Stag**

**Kiba – Wolf**

**I got quite a lot of reviews, thanks guys!**

**They are: Tachi Kagahara, bookist, Ember Spy, Anivla01, Kakawot, ThePurpleSuperCow, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, hokage of dragon, howlingwindofthestorm, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, almp, Cindar, WinxPossible and tenshi-no-akuma-81. **

**Chapter Two: The Hearing and Hogwarts**

* * *

><p>"Potter-san has a hearing?" Fox repeated, eyeing Lupin.<p>

"Yes. On the twelfth of August," Lupin said. "Are you going to accompany him?"

"Yes," Fox said.

"And why does the brat have a hearing?" asked a cold voice. Hawk had entered, his pupil-less eyes fixed on Lupin, and then onto Harry, who was also in the room.

"Because some Dementors arrived in Little Whinging and attacked me and my cousin," Harry said, trying not to sound angry.

His temper had been going haywire over the last few days. It wasn't getting any better considering that most of the guards called him a brat, a _gaki _(whatever that was), a child… Harry was getting rather sick of it. Even the female ninja showed no compassion, and although they didn't say it to his face, Harry had heard Slug and Dove call him an idiot and a troublemaker. Harry didn't even know what he was doing wrong to be called those names. Apparently they were reading some old reports on Harry which had been sent to them from Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, another person Harry was kinda pissed at. Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding Harry, and when they did meet face to face, the headmaster wouldn't even look at Harry in the eyes. This, combined with the name calling from the guards, was making Harry a little edgy.

"What's a Dementor?" Slug asked.

"A… thing," was all Harry could say.

"A thing," Slug repeated, her voice mocking. "Please elaborate." Harry resisted the urge to pound her face in, female or not.

"A Dementor is a Dark creature, considered one of the foulest to inhabit the world. Dementors feed off human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to anyone near them. They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as 'soul-sucking fiends' and are known to leave a person as an 'empty shell' (1)," Lupin said.

For a moment, Harry thought he saw something flicker in Fox's eyes. It was almost like recognition. Pain? After that second, though, it was gone, and the usual frostiness descended upon those eyes once again.

"So… what's the hearing for?" Hawk asked.

"I used magic to fend the Dementors off," Harry said, "in front of my cousin, who is a Muggle. You're not allowed to show magic in front of a Muggle."

"A Muggle is something you call people with no magical core, correct?" Slug asked.

"Yes," Lupin said.

"And so Potter-san has to go to this hearing because he performed magic in front of a Muggle, and that is illegal?" Fox said. Both Harry and Lupin nodded.

"Alright then," Fox said finally.

"Harry, dear," Mrs Weasley called from upstairs. "Could you please come and help us clean out this room? We need an extra pair of hands…"

"Coming," Harry called back. Harry glanced at the guards one last time before heading upstairs.

Lupin looked at Fox, his eyes hard.

"Could you be more polite to Harry?" Lupin asked.

"Hm? Why?" Fox said nonchalantly.

"Harry has been through a lot," Lupin said. "Last year he saw a fellow student die, he still thinks it's his fault. Your name calling isn't really helping, you know."

"And how does calling him a brat relate to that incident?" Hawk asked. Lupin shrugged.

"His self esteem," Lupin said.

"His self esteem," Fox repeated scathingly, "because his self esteem is so important to us. Look, Lupin-san, we're just here to protect him and Hogwarts. We're not here to baby him, you know."

Lupin sighed. There really was no way to make the ninja any nicer.

'No, it's just that… you calling him a brat will signify to him that he is still a child, and he feels that it is _because_ he is a child that he wasn't able to save Cedric," Lupin said.

"He _is_ still just a child," Slug said.

"What? You're no better, you know," came a voice from the doorway. Sirius stood there, dislike etched on his face. "Your voices are not that of adults. How old are you, exactly?"

"We are all seventeen, Dragon and Hawk are eighteen," Fox said. Surprise flashed across Sirius' face, and then he shrugged.

"See what I mean? You are barely two years older than him," Sirius said. "Don't talk about the world as if you have seen it."

"Black-san, I can tell that you have seen the world, both the good and the bad," Hawk said. "But we have as well. We are no longer children. We do not come from the wizarding dimension, Black-san. You forget… we are ninja."

Sirius stared at them for a second, and then he sighed.

"Yeah, you're right. I did forget," he said softly. "Easy to forget when you have the eyes of a child, but they bear the burden of an adult."

* * *

><p>On the day of the hearing, Harry awoke at half past five in the morning as abruptly and completely as if someone had yelled in his ear. For a few moments he lay immobile as the prospect of the disciplinary hearing filled every tiny particle of his brain, then, unable to bear it, he leapt out of bed and put on his glasses. Harry scrambled into his clothes and crossed the room, stepped out on the landing and closed the door softly behind him. He walked quietly down the stairs, past the heads of Kreacher's ancestors, and down into the kitchen.<p>

He had expected it to be empty, but when he reached the door he heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side. He pushed it open and saw Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Dragon and Cat sitting there almost as though they were waiting for him. All were fully dressed except for Mrs Weasley, who was wearing a quilted purple dressing gown.

She fussed over him, clearly nervous as well, and placed some toast and marmalade in front of him.

Mr Weasley checked his watch and looked up at Harry.

"I think we'll go now," he said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."

"Okay," said Harry automatically, dropping his toast and getting to his feet. "Well… see you later." The other inhabitants gave him advice and wished him luck.

He followed Mr Weasley upstairs and along the hall. Dragon and Cat tailed him silently.

They walked along the street, turning heads with Mr Weasley's strange attire and the guards' armour and masks, but none of them really cared.

They went on a train, which the ninja didn't really like, and got off at the very heart of London. They walked until they reached a street that contained several rather shabby-looking offices, a pub and an overflowing skip.

"Here we are," said Mr Weasley brightly, pointing at an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffitied wall, "After you, Harry, Dragon, Cat."

He opened the telephone-box door.

Harry stepped inside, the ninja flitting in behind him.

"Mr Weasley, I think this might be out of order," Harry said.

"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," said Mr Weasley, holding the receiver above his head and peering at the dial. "Let's see… six…" he dialed the number, "two… four… another four… and another two…"

As the dial whirred smoothly back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone-box, not from the receiver in Mr Weasley's hand, but as loudly and plainly as though an invisible woman were standing right beside them.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er… Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, here to escort Harry Potter, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing, along with Dragon and Cat… who are guards."

"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

There was a click and a rattle, and Harry saw something slide out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. He picked up a badge: it was a square silver badge with _Harry Potter, Disciplinary Hearing_ on it. He pinned it to the front of his T-shirt and handed the other two badges to Cat and Dragon. The ninja pinned the badges onto their black clothing.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor of the telephone-box shuddered. They were sinking slowly into the ground. Harry watched apprehensively as the pavement seemed to rise up past the glass windows of the telephone-box until darkness closed over their heads. After about a minute, a chink of golden light illuminated his feet and widening, rose up his body, until it hit him in the face and he had to blink to stop his eyes watering.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice.

The door of the telephone-box sprang open and Mr Weasley stepped out of it, followed by Harry, Dragon and Cat.

"Death Eater!" a woman shrieked as soon as the two ninja appeared. Cat glanced at Dragon, who shrugged.

A spell was sent their way, red in colour, and Cat stepped to the side, causing the spell to leave a black mark on the floor where it landed.

"Death Eater!"

Soon, the shouts of "Death Eater!" echoed through the Atrium. There was a large ruckus after that, as Mr Weasley attempted to calm everyone down. The whole room was in disarray; papers flying everywhere, running witches and wizards, blinding spells shooting across the room…

"STOP!" Mr Weasley bellowed. Harry flinched; he had never heard him yell that loud before. Silence fell as everyone looked at Mr Weasley.

"They are not Death Eaters," Mr Weasley said calmly. "Look at them closely."

"But… but the masks, Arthur," a wizard spluttered.

"They are not Death Eaters," Mr Weasley said firmly, "now please let us be on our way."

The four of them moved through the throng of people who made a passage to let them pass.

"Over here," said Mr Weasley, and they stepped out of the stream of Ministry employees heading for the golden gates. Seated at a desk to the left, beneath a sign saying _Security_, a badly-shaven wizard in peacock blue robes looked up as they approached.

"I'm escorting a visitor," said Mr Weasley, gesturing towards Harry.

"Caused quite an uproar," said the wizard. "Now step over here."

Harry walked closer to him and the wizard held up a long golden rod, thin and flexible as a car aerial, and passed it up and down Harry back and front. He did the same for Dragon and Cat, although a little warily.

_"What does that do?" _Cat muttered.

_"Don't know. Some kind of security thing,"_ Dragon said.

"Wand," grunted the security wizard at Harry, putting down the golden instrument and holding out his wand.

Harry produced his wand. The wizard dropped it onto a strange brass instrument, which looked something like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore this off and read the writing on it.

"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use four years. That correct?"

"Yes," said Harry nervously.

"I keep this," said the wizard, impaling the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. "You get this back." He thrust the wand at Harry. "And you?" he added, eyeing Cat and Dragon.

"Er, they don't have wands," Mr Weasley said hastily, dragging Harry away. "Thank you, Eric."

They got into a lift filled with people, all of whom stayed well away from the ninja. Mr Weasley chatted to a few wizards, until they reached Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services.

They passed the Auror Headquarters, where Mr Weasley and Kingsley spoke to each other as if they hardly knew one another, but then dropped hints about the Order.

They then went to Mr Weasley's office, where Perkins burst in, babbling about how the time of the hearing had changed. That caused Mr Weasley to grab Harry's arm and they streaked away, running to the old Courtroom Ten. Cat and Dragon hurried after them, ghosting along. They bolted into the lift, went down back to the Atrium, ran down some stairs where they finally reached Courtroom Ten, and Mr Weasley shoved Harry inside.

* * *

><p>Mr Weasley paced outside nervously while Cat and Dragon stood there.<p>

_"What can you see?" _Dragon murmured.

_"A large room, let's see… all the seats are filled, Potter-san is sitting in a chair,"_Cat reported. A movement caught her eye, and she turned to see a tall wizard with a long, silver heard, accompanied by a short woman.

"Dumbledore," Mr Weasley said. Dumbledore smiled at the man.

_So this is Dumbledore, our client,_ Cat thought. _He reminds me of the Third Hokage._

"Guards," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I apologise for not introducing myself earlier. I would do it now, in fact, but I must be getting to the hearing."

"Understood," Cat said softly. Dumbledore entered the court room, leaving the woman outside. No one talked. A few minutes later, she was summoned inside. She emerged ten minutes later and waited in silence with the rest of them.

_"Dumbledore-san seems to be arguing Potter-san's case rather well,_ Cat whispered. _I think they're voting now. It seems as though the witch, I believe her name is Amelia Bones_ **(A/N Amelia is my name too!)**_, is quite a fair person…"_

_"You said they were voting," _Dragon said sharply. Cat nodded.

_"Potter-san has been cleared of all charges,"_ Cat said. _"They are going out now." _She switched off her Byakugan.

* * *

><p><em>"How did it go?" <em>Raccoon asked when he spotted Cat and Dragon.

_"Cleared,"_ Dragon said simply.

Time passed, and finally, on the day before they had to go back to Hogwarts, the booklists arrived. With it, came the excitement of the prefect's badge. First came the silence, then the screaming, then the tears shed by Mrs Weasley.

_"What's a prefect?" _Wolf asked. Everyone else shrugged.

That night there was a small party in honour of Hermione and Ron becoming prefects. The ninja stayed up in their rooms; they weren't party people.

Near the end of the night, Fox was walking down the stairs when he heard sobbing coming from a room.

"Hello?" Fox asked out loud. The sobbing continued. Fox opened a door where he thought the sobbing was coming from.

Someone was cowering against the dark wall, her wand in her hand, her whole body shaking with sobs. Sprawled on the dusty old carpet in a patch of moonlight, clearly dead, was Ron.

Fox stared at the corpse for a second, and then sensed that it wasn't human. Was it some kind of Dark creature? Whatever it was, Fox knew that he needed other wizards or witches to deal with it.

"Mrs Weasley," Fox said softly. "Get a grip."

Mrs Weasley started at the sound of her name.

"Someone!" Fox raised his voice. "I need help in here!"

The Boggart kept changing shape, seemingly oblivious to the extra person in the room. _Crack._ Dead twins. _Crack._ Dead Percy. _Crack._ Dead Harry…

"What's going on?"

Lupin had come running into the room, closely followed by Sirius and Harry, with Moody stumping along behind them. Lupin looked from Mrs Weasley to the dead Harry on the floor and seemed to understand in an instant. Pulling out his own wand, he said, very firmly and clearly:

"_Riddikulus!"_

Harry's body vanished. A silvery orb hung in the air over the spot where it had lain. Lupin waved his wand once more and the orb vanished in a puff of smoke.

"What was that?" Fox asked Moody, moving away as Mrs Weasley sobbed her heart out on Lupin's shoulder.

"Dark creature," Moody growled. "Lives in dark places, takes on the form of what you fear most."

_What you fear most,_ Fox thought. _What would that be for me…?_

* * *

><p>Slug awoke instantly and rolled out of bed, packing her things without hesitation. Nearby, she could hear her fellow teammates wake up as well. It was five in the morning, but she was sure that other Order members would be awake.<p>

"Morning Slug," Cat said as they met on the landing and going down together.

"Good morning," Slug said. They found the other ninja in the kitchen. Wolf was sitting at the table looking at a newspaper with Dove reading it behind him, her hand on his shoulder. Raccoon and Hawk were sitting in front of empty plates. Stag was standing in the corner, and it was evident that beneath his mask, he was yawning widely. Fox was asking Dragon something about his kunai.

Mrs Weasley was having a cup of tea, and one by one, other members of the house woke up and went down to the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness," Mrs Weasley gasped, looking at her watch. "They have to wake up now; they'll be late for the train!"

She almost ran upstairs and woke everyone. Within the next ten minutes, there was a full on commotion going on inside the house.

It started with Fred and George bewitched their trunks to fly down the stairs, hitting Ginny in the process and causing her to fall down two flights. This resulted in Ginny's yell, which in turn caused the curtains from Mrs Black's portrait's curtain to fly open and she and Mrs Weasley started screaming.

"– COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS –"

"– FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS –"

"Well, at least this house is lively," Fox said, staring around at the chaos.

* * *

><p>"I don't like this train," Hawk muttered. The ninja were in their own compartment at the front of the train. It was unsettling, really, for the shinobi, who hadn't been on any mechanical device in their lives, with the exception of Cat and Dragon, when they took the train to go to the Ministry of Magic for Harry's hearing.<p>

"Wolf, go and sit with Potter-san," Fox instructed. "I'll swap you over when we're halfway there."

"Hai," Wolf mumbled. He and Akamaru left the carriage.

"Okay, the plan outline for the year is, to put it simply, guard Hogwarts and make sure Potter-san doesn't do anything stupid," Fox said. "And we have to look out for the Akatsuki."

"If they find out that we're here to protect Potter-san, they may capture him for a trade," Stag said. "We can't risk that."

"I know," Fox said.

They spent the rest of the train journey discussing tactics.

Meanwhile, Wolf was sitting in the compartment containing Harry and his friends, including Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. He looked suspiciously at the little cactus-plant that Neville Longbottom held in his hand.

"_Mimbulus mimbletonia,_" Neville said proudly. "It's really, really rare. I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even."

Wolf looked at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

"Does it – er – do anything?" Harry asked, trying to sound polite.

"Loads of stuff," said Neville proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me…"

He dumped the toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna Lovegood's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, to watch what Neville was doing.

_Please don't tell me he's going to show us what that thing does… _Wolf thought, looking with distaste at the plant.

Neville held the _Mimbulus mimbletonia _up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.

_Great._

Wolf watched the plant contract; although it was so minute he doubted whether the magical folk could see it, and before it could expand again, he and Akamaru were out the door, not very keen to stay in the same compartment as the plant. Lucky he moved so fast, because a second later, liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and splattered Luna Lovegood's magazine; Ginny, who had flung her arms in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. It smelled like rancid manure.

Outside, Wolf almost choked as the disgusting scent reached him.

_That's gross,_ Wolf thought.

He stepped aside to let a girl pass, and she opened the door of Harry's compartment.

"Oh… hello, Harry," said the girl nervously, "um… bad time?"

Wolf saw Harry wipe the lenses of his glasses and look up to see the girl smiling up at him.

"Oh… hi," said Harry blankly.

"Um…" said Cho, "well… just thought I'd say hello… bye then."

Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned.

"Never mind," said Ginny bracingly. "Look, we can easily get rid of all this." She pulled out her wand. "_Scourgify!" _

The Stinksap vanished.

Wolf came back in, Akamaru padding along. The dog almost took up the whole compartment.

An hour came and went, and Ron and Hermione, having gone to the prefects' carriage, had not returned. Harry, Ginny and Neville had finished their pumpkin pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate Frog Cards when the compartment door slid open and Ron and Hermione walked in.

Ron walked abruptly into Akamaru before the canine moved. Wolf was sitting there, silent and stiff, glaring holes into the wall opposite him.

"I'm starving," said Ron, stowing Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Harry and throwing himself into the seat next to him. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head and leaned back with his eye closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning.

The compartment door slid open, and Slug stood on the other side. Wolf stood up immediately, and he and Akamaru left. Slug entered and took his seat.

"Well, there are two fifth year prefects from each house," Hermione said, talking to fill the silence. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" said Ron, still with his eyes closed.

"Malfoy," replied Harry at once, certain his worst fear would be confirmed.

"'Course," said Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the Frog into his mouth and taking another.

"And that complete _cow_ Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll…"

"Who are the Hufflepuff's?" Harry asked.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," said Ron thickly.

"And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Hermione.

_How nice it would be…_ Slug thought, _to be so innocent you can sit in a carriage and talk about who got the position of prefect. Whatever that is, I'm sure it's some kind of leadership role. I don't even remember when I lost my innocence. Maybe it was when I killed my first victim, knowing it was for the mission. The first kill…_

The compartment door slid open once again.

Harry looked around he had expected this, but that did not make the sight of Draco Malfoy smirking at him from between his cronies Crabbe and Goyle any more enjoyable.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" he said aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth.

_This kid's name is Malfoy?_ Slug thought.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you detention," drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blonde hair and pointed chin were just like his father's. "You see, I unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," said Harry, "but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed. Malfoy's lip curled. He looked around and saw Slug.

"And who are you?" he asked contemptuously.

"I," said Slug coolly, "am Slug."

"Slug?" Malfoy repeated. "Are your parents daft or something? Who names their kid 'Slug'?"

"Better than being named 'Malfoy'," Slug retorted. Malfoy looked at her disdainfully and then turned his attention back to Harry.

"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" he asked.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hermione sharply.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy, smirking. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be _dogging_ your footsteps in case you step out of line."

"Get out!" said Hermione, standing up.

Sniggering, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and departed, with Crabbe and Goyle lumbering along in his wake. Hermione slammed the apartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry.

"Dogging?" Slug said dryly. Hermione shot the guard a look; they could not talk freely in front of Luna and Neville.

The weather remained undecided as they travelled further and further north. Rain spattered the windows in a half-hearted way, and then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more. When darkness fell and lamps came on inside the carriages, Luna rolled up _The Quibbler_, put it carefully away in her bag and took to staring at everyone in the compartment instead.

"We'd better change," said Hermione at last, and all of them opened their trunks with difficulty and pulled on their school robes. She and Ron pinned their prefect badges carefully to their chests.

At last the train began to slow down and they heard the usual racket up and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready to get off. As Ron and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this, they disappeared from the carriage again, leaving Harry and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon. Slug, somehow, had also disappeared.

Harry shuffled off the train amongst all the other students, and wondered where Hagrid was after spotting Professor Grubbly-Plank calling the first years towards her.

He was shunted forwards onto the dark rain-washed road outside Hogsmeade Station.

Here stood the hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that always took the students above first year up to the castle. Harry glanced quickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for Ron and Hermione, then did a double-take.

The coaches were no longer horseless. There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts. If he had had to give them a name, he supposed he would have called them horses, although there was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes were white and staring. Wings sprouted from each wither – vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats. Standing still and quiet in the gathering gloom, the creatures looked eerie and sinister.

Nearby, Fox was gazing intensely at these reptilian horses.

_Death horses,_ Fox thought, staring at them, _they look like the horses of death._

* * *

><p>"Good evening," Dumbledore said brightly, striding towards them in purple robes strewn with silver stars.<p>

The ninja were in a room that led directly to the Great Hall **(A/N It's the room where the champions went into after their names were spat out of the Goblet of Fire in the fourth book)**. There, they were meeting Professor Albus Dumbledore for the first time, well, second, for Cat and Dragon.

"Dumbledore-san?" Fox said quietly. The tall wizard nodded. "I am Fox, captain."

One by one, the others introduced themselves to Dumbledore as well. After the introductions were made, the headmaster nodded happily at them. Apparently he didn't find them intimidating at all.

"Would you like me to introduce the staff to you? Or would you rather find out their names yourself?" Dumbledore asked.

"We'll find out ourselves," said Fox.

"Very well, until I tell the students about you, may you please stay in here?" Dumbledore requested.

"Yes," Fox said.

Outside, Harry jumped as he recognised a witch sitting on a chair next to Dumbledore's. The toad woman.

"Umbridge," Harry said slowly.

"What?" Hermione said.

"That woman, I think she's supposed to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Umbridge. She was at my hearing! She works for Fudge!"

"Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.

"She works for Fudge!" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"

"Dunno…"

The buzz of talk faded away as the first years trooped into the Hall, lined up in front of the staff table and watched as a three legged stool was placed before them. The Hat opened its mouth, and burst into song.

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning._

'_Together we will build and teach!'_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might someday be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest.'_

_Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach just those whose_

_Intelligence is surest,'_

_Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name,'_

_Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,_

_And treat them just the same.'_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_When to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus the houses and their founders_

_Retained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But this discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears._

_The houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four_

_Where whittled down to three_

_Have the houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into houses_

_Because that's what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether Sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you…_

_Let the Sorting now begin._

"It seems that among the four founders of Hogwarts, Hufflepuff was the kindest," Cat said quietly after the Hat had finished its song.

"Unity," Fox sighed. "It's an important thing."

"That's how we won the Fourth Shinobi World War," Stag agreed, "Because we were united."

"But Slytherin seem the darkest," Wolf pointed out.

"Yes, but he was a great friend to Gryffindor at the beginning," Swan said.

"That kinda reminds me of… Sasuke," Slug said. "And you, Fox."

"Me?" Fox said, surprised.

"Hn. Well, it kind of does," Hawk said. "Fox as Gryffindor, Sasuke as Slytherin."

"Sasuke was good at first, just like Slytherin," Dragon said, "and was friends with Gryffindor, which is like Fox. Sasuke turns 'evil', like Slytherin, and leaves, like Slytherin."

"That's quite true," Cat said. The shinobi lapsed into silence.

The ninja waited patiently in the room as the Sorting took place, listening to the cheers the various tables emitted. Finally, after the last girl was sorted into Hufflepuff, silence reigned again.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, "welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! Now, before we start our feast, I have an important announcement to make.

"Due to the events that occurred last year, I have decided to hire some ninja guards to protect Hogwarts. They are here to help, and though their… appearances may be a little frightening, I assure you that you will be perfectly safe," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Here they are."

There are eight poofs and a swirl of sand in front of the staff table, and when it cleared, nine figures stood in its place.

Harry, having already seen the guards before, wasn't surprised by their menacing looks. Others, however, stared at them with such great intensity it was considered rude. Many of them had their mouths open.

"They will be guarding the school, day and night. They will ensure that there are no nigh time wanders within the castle," Dumbledore said, his eyes sweeping the room. "If you see anything suspicious, report to the guards. They also have the authority to dock points and give you detention."

Fox stepped forward.

"Fox."

"Raccoon."

"Hawk."

"Slug."

"Cat."

"Dragon."

"Stag."

"Dove."

"Wolf."

"Yes, with that, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said merrily. He sat down, and instantly, the golden plates filled with food. The students tore their eyes away from the guards and down to the chow.

The ninja retreated into the shadowy corners of the Hall, melting into the darkness.

When the students had all finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the headmaster.

"Well, not that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I bed a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the Forbidden Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes…"

As Dumbledore went on, Fox darted over to where Slug was standing.

"Who's the toad?" he mumbled. Slug glanced over to where Umbridge was sitting.

"Um, a teacher?" she suggested.

"I saw her at Potter-san's hearing," Cat said quietly, flitting over as well. "Umbridge. She was one of the ones that voted Potter-san conviction."

"Hmm, so she doesn't like him," Fox muttered.

Dumbledore stopped his speech and turned towards Umbridge, surprise evident on his face, but then he sat down smartly as she got up to say something.

She had a fussy, girly, high pitched voice that thoroughly irritated Fox's ears. However, he listened attentively, though the expression under his mask was not one of enjoyment.

"There will be interference within Hogwarts coming from the Ministry," Cat said after Umbridge had finished. "That's not a good thing, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Slug murmured. "That pretty much tells us that Umbridge is here as some sort of spy for the Ministry."

"Well, she's not our problem," Fox said. "Unless she gets in our way, we won't do anything."

"Of course we won't," Slug said. "Why would we want to, anyway? She looks like she wants to swallow us whole."

* * *

><p>"Let's go," Fox said. Raccoon and Hawk, Slug and Dragon and Dove and Cat split off from the rest of the guards and went with the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs to explain the rules they were expected to follow for the year. That night, the said ninja would be sleeping in the said house's common room.<p>

That left Fox, Wolf and Stag with Gryffindor.

The three of them led the students to Gryffindor Tower, and after giving the Fat Lady the password, slipped inside the common room.

"Attention, everyone," Fox called.

While he explained the rules to the students, Stag and Wolf discreetly checked out every corner of the common room. When they were satisfied that it was safe, they relaxed their muscles.

After the Gryffindors had gone to bed, Fox and Stag went out for patrol.

"See you later," Fox said to Wolf.

"Troublesome," Stag muttered but followed his captain.

Wolf fell asleep on an armchair, Akamaru at his feet, but like any other shinobi, kept his ears open.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry for putting in the Sorting Hat's song, as it was extra long in this book. I probably caused most of you to skip everything in italics, didn't I? I wanted to put it in because the song this time signifies a lot.<strong>

**(1) I got that directly from the Harry Potter Wiki.**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Defence Against the Dark Arts

**I would have replied to all your reviews, but then FanFiction was being a retard. Sorry to those who have read this before in the Author's Note in my other story, you can skip this. Every time I clicked on the review reply link, it came up with "Oops, you have clicked on blah blah blah." I know you can reply to someone's review by going to the reviews page and clicking on the speech bubble mark on the top right hand corner of a review, and I did that, except after a while I lost track of who I replied to and who I hadn't replied to, so I gave up. Sorry!**

**Thank you to: Spider's Thread, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, Jupiter567, tenshi-no-akuma-81, SaKuRa-Blossom29, DemonKittyAngel, Nadalada for reviewing =3**

**Chapter Three: Defence Against the Dark Arts**

* * *

><p>Harry was glowering at this breakfast the next morning, stabbing at it and gritting his teeth. His fight last night with Seamus had been bitter, and he wondered how many attacks he would have to endure before everyone believed that Voldemort was back.<p>

He looked to his right and almost fell out of his seat when he saw Stag sitting there beside him. When did he get here?

Then, Harry shrugged mentally, not caring. He didn't like the guards. They were rude, annoying and sadistic.

In the Great Hall, Harry noticed that, once again, Hagrid was absent. He was starting to get slightly worried. Where was he?

When the bell rang, he went off to class without a backwards glance towards the guard, Ron and Hermione following him.

History of Magic was easily the most boring subject devised by wizardkind. Professor Binns, their ghost teacher, had a wheezy, droning voice that was almost guaranteed to cause severe drowsiness within ten minutes; five in warm weather. He never varied the form of their lessons, but lectured them without pausing while they took notes, or rather, gazed sleepily into space. Harry and Ron had so far managed to scrape passes in this subject only by copying Hermione's notes before exams; she alone seemed able to resist the soporific power of Binns' voice.

Harry noticed that Stag had followed him to History of Magic. Remembering that the ninja were here to guard him particularly, he felt a rush of annoyance. Stag did not attempt to talk to him, and he in turn ignored him.

After History of Magic came Potions, Harry's least favourite class.

Yay…

Stag observed in silence as Snape went around and bullied the members of Gryffindor. He had met the Potions teacher a few times at Grimmauld Place, but had only exchanged a few words with him.

_He… really doesn't seem to like Potter-san,_ he thought.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Snape asked, looking down at Harry's cauldron with a horrible smirk on his face. The Slytherins at the front of the class all looked up eagerly; they loved hearing Snape taunt Harry.

"The Draught of Peace," said Harry tensely.

"Tell me, Potter," said Snape softly, "can you read?"

Draco Malfoy laughed. The guard rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I can," said Harry, his fingers clenched tightly around his wand. Stag noticed this motion and sighed silently.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter."

Harry squinted at the blackboard; it was not easy to make out the instructions through the haze of multi-coloured steam now filling the dungeon.

"'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes then add two drops of syrup of hellebore.'"

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

"No," said Harry very quietly.

"I bed your pardon?"

"No," said Harry, more loudly. "I forgot the hellebore."

"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless. _Evanesco._"

The contents of Harry's potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron.

"Those of you who _have_ managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name and bring it up to my desk for testing," said Snape. "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."

While everyone around him filled their flagons, Harry cleared away his things, seething. His potion had been no worse than Ron's, which was now giving off a foul odour of bad eggs; or Neville's, which had achieved the consistency of just-mixed cement and which Neville was now having to gouge out of his cauldron; yet it was he, Harry, who would be receiving zero marks for the day's work. He stuffed his wand back into his bag and slumped down onto his seat, watching everyone else march up to Snape's desk with filled and corked flagons.

When at long last the bell rang, Harry was first out of the dungeon and had already started his lunch by the time Ron and Hermione joined him in the Great Hall. The ceiling had turned an even murkier grey during the morning. Rain was lashing the high windows.

_"How'd the first few lessons go?"_ Fox asked, sitting down at the Ravenclaw table. Stag sat down next to him.

_"Potter-san is not exactly the smartest student here,"_ Stag said. _"In History of Magic, he played hangman with Weasley-san, and in Potions… well, he's not really good at it."_

_"Any particular reason?"_ Fox asked. Stag shrugged.

_"Snape-san doesn't like him,"_ he stated simply. _"Potter-san's mixture wasn't the worst in the class, yet Snape-san conveniently ignored all the other students' mixtures and only focused on finding flaws in Potter-san's. Although I will admit that he doesn't exactly have any talent in Potions either. Snape-san also likes to… intimidate the other Gryffindors."_

Fox shrugged.

_"Not our problem,"_ he said, _"but Potter-san should make an effort to study harder." _Stag let out a humourless laugh.

_"As if you were the star student in the Academy,"_ Stag snorted.

The Ravenclaws were looking on curiously as the two guards exchanged foreign words between them, completely disregarding everything else. The ninja dimly noticed that Harry had gotten pissed at Ron and Hermione and had stormed off, but they ignored him.

* * *

><p><em>Divination sucks,<em> Dove thought, staring out the window as she sat in the heat of Professor Trelawney's classroom.

Of course, no one looking at her would ever guess that she was almost falling asleep. Dove's back was rigid, her legs tucked under her and her hands resting lightly against her thighs. She was the picture of etiquette. Dove, though sleepy, was still on high alert. Not necessarily on the lookout for intruders, but she kept her ears open. She had found out that Hogwarts' students loved to gossip, and often listened in on conversations, looking out for tidbits of information that would benefit the ninja in their mission.

"You must remember one of them," she heard Harry say impatiently.

Dove's ears pricked. Harry's voice sounded annoyed, but underneath that annoyance was a tiny layer of fear. The students were recounting their dreams, and Harry obviously did not want to share his. Dove frowned under her mask. Dumbledore had informed the guards about Harry's connection with Voldemort via his scar, although she wasn't entirely sure how that worked. Dove made a mental note to ask Harry about it later.

_This is so boring,_ Dove complained in her mind. _I would be better off training right now._

When the bell went, she followed Ron and Harry to their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Dove had noticed Umbridge during the start-of-term speech when she had interrupted Dumbledore, and it was there that she learned that the woman would be their DADA teacher.

She slipped silently inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and almost recoiled at the sight of Professor Umbridge, who was sitting there looking like some fat toad.

_Even Naruto's summons look better than her,_ Dove thought disdainfully, sweeping an eye over Umbridge's fluffy pink cardigan and black velvet bow that sat on her head.

"Well, good afternoon!" she said, when finally the whole class had sat down. Dove had seated herself at the back of the classroom and made a face when she heard Umbridge's sickly sweet voice.

A few people mumbled "good afternoon" in reply.

"Tut, tut," said Professor Umbridge. "_That_ won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back at her.

Dove stared at the teacher with distaste. She detested people like Umbridge who put such a huge emphasis on manners. Even Iruka-sensei, who had taught them how to be courteous to their clients when on a mission, didn't care how they answered him in the classroom.

Umbridge had ordered the class to put away their wands and take out their quills and parchment. She took out her unusually short wand and tapped the blackboard sharply with it.

_Defence Against the Dark Arts_

_A Return to Basic Principles_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see it your OWL year.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by the 'Course aims'.

_1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_2. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

_3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

Dove's respect for Umbridge lessened as the lesson went on. Umbridge was terribly picky about manners and she was extremely dull and boring. She went on about the Ministry so much that Dove was sure she was married to it or something.

While the students were writing, Umbridge stalked over to the back of the class where Dove was sitting. Dove rolled her eyes as she saw the toad woman draw closer, her lips stretched into a fake smile.

"Dear," she said sweetly, but in an undertone as to not draw attention to the two of them. Dove cocked her head to show she was listening. "Please, we do not need a guard for this class. You are free to leave."

"My apologies, Umbridge-san," Dove said coldly, "but I have a certain mission. I am staying here until this class is finished."

"Perhaps you misunderstand," Umbridge said, coating her voice in even more sugar. "That wasn't a request. I wish for you to leave now."

"Perhaps _you_ misunderstand," Dove said, "but you cannot order me around. You are neither my leader nor my client. I do not answer to you." Umbridge pursed her lips, but then forced a sweet smile.

"I repeat," Umbridge said, "there is no need for a guard in this class. Please, leave."

"_I_ repeat," Dove said, bottling down her annoyance, "I have a mission, which I will complete. You cannot tell me what to do."

Umbridge's eyebrow twitched.

"I cannot allow you to stay here," she said. "Leave, now. You are disrupting my lesson."

Dove gave a humourless laugh.

"In what way am I disrupting your lesson?" Dove snorted. "I haven't done anything, have I? Now go back to that desk at the front of the room, or better yet, why don't you go and answer Granger-san's question?"

Dove jerked her head over to where Hermione's hand raised in the air. She found this odd, as she knew that Hermione was a major bookworm and loved to read, and also knew that the class had been clearly told to start reading their copy of _Defensive Magic Theory_. She wondered what made Hermione disregard that order.

Umbridge threw Dove a dirty look and went back to her desk, past Hermione and sat down, shuffling through some papers.

The bushy-haired girl was being plainly ignored by Umbridge, who seemed to have found something very interesting about the wall to her right.

More and more of the class members started to choose to watch Hermione trying to catch Umbridge's attention instead of reading their books. The teacher could no longer ignore Hermione, and finally turned towards the girl, her lips curving up into a false smile.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.

"Not about the chapter, no," said Hermione.

"Well, we're reading just now," said Professor Umbridge, showing her small pointed teeth. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," said Hermione. Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows while Dove smiled at the girl. She was smart.

"And your name is?"

"Hermione Granger," said Hermione.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," said Professor Umbridge.

"Well, I don't," said Hermione bluntly. "There's nothing written up there about _using_ defensive spells."

_Good,_ Dove thought, _very good. You've figured it out._

"_Using_ defensive spells?" Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron exclaimed loudly. Dove twitched irritably at the sound of his voice. He just noticed?

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr –?"

"Weasley," said Ron, thrusting his hand into the air.

Professor Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on him. Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge's pouchy eyes lingered on Harry for a moment, before she addressed Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes," said Hermione. "Surely the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to practise defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" asked Professor Umbridge in her falsely sweet voice.

"No, but –"

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way –"

_Wizards much older and cleverer than you, yeah right,_ Dove thought, _they are probably also the ones who don't believe Voldemort is back. Besides, it's DEFENCE against the DARK ARTS. DEFENCE, goddammit, AGAINST the DARK ARTS._

"What use is that?" said Harry loudly. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a –"

"_Hand_, Mr Potter!" sang Professor Umbridge. Harry thrust his fist into the air. Again, Professor Umbridge promptly turned away from him, but now several people had their hands up, too.

"And your name is?" Professor Umbridge said to Dean.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" said Dean. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat," said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion to Dean, "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but –"

_This woman just doesn't get it, does she?_ Dove thought, annoyed as Umbridge talked over Dean.

"I do not wish to criticise the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class very irresponsible indeed – not to mention extremely dangerous half-breeds."

_You say you don't want to criticise, yet that is exactly what you are doing. It's obvious you don't approve of half-breeds,_ Dove thought.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," piped up Dean angrily, "he was the best we ever –"

"_Hand_, Mr Thomas! As I was saying – you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day –"

"No we haven't," said Hermione, "we just –"

"_Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!_"

Dove rubbed her temples, frowning. This was getting more and more unbearable.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, you actually performed them on you."

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" said Dean hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads."

"_Your hand is not up, Mr Thomas!_" trilled Umbridge. "Now. It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter-curses and things?"

_How are you going to answer that, you old hag?_ Dove thought, her lips twitching into a smug smile. _You can't just say that all you have to do is study the theory hard enough and you will –_

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," said Professor Umbridge dismissively. Dove almost fell out of her chair.

_I can't believe she actually answered her like that,_ Dove groaned inwardly. _That's just like saying that if you stare at a picture of someone throwing a shuriken for long enough, then you will be able to do it perfectly on your first try._

"Without ever practising them beforehand?" said Parvati incredulously. "Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough –"

"And what good is theory going to be in the real world?" said Harry loudly, his fist in the air again. Dove shot him a glare.

"This is school, Mr Potter, not the real world," Umbridge said softly.

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?"

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr Potter."

"Oh, yeah?" said Harry. Dove bit her lip, willing for him to stop. She could see Harry's temper, bubbling just beneath the surface all day, reach its boiling point.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" enquired Professor Umbridge in a horribly honeyed voice.

_Rapists,_ Dove thought. _Thieves… muggers… paedophiles… escaped criminals… wild dogs… rogue ninja… there are a lot of things or people who would want to attack you. But please for the love of god don't say Voldemort…_

"Hmm, let's think…" said Harry in a mock thoughtful voice, "maybe… Lord Voldemort?"

Dove sighed; Ron gasped; Lavender Brown uttered a little scream; Neville slipped sideways off his stool. Professor Umbridge, however, did not flinch. She was staring at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Potter."

The classroom was still and silent. Everyone was staring at either Umbridge or Harry.

"Now, let me make a few things quite plain."

Professor Umbridge stood up and leaned towards them, her stubby-fingered hands splayed on her desk.

"You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead –"

"He wasn't dead," said Harry angrily, "but yeah, he returned."

_Shut up, you stupid boy,_ Dove thought, _you have already spoken out of line too many times._

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," said Professor Umbridge in one breath without looking at him. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. _This is a lie._"

"It is NOT a lie!" said Harry. "I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr Potter!" said Professor Umbridge triumphantly. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, _this is a lie._ The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners'."

Professor Umbridge sat down behind her desk. Harry, however, stood up. Everyone was staring at him; Seamus looked half scared, half fascinated.

_All right, this has gone far enough,_ Dove thought, folding her arms. _I have let Potter-san talk, but now he is just being silly. _

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" Harry asked, his voice shaking.

"Potter-san," Dove called out sharply. The class jumped, having forgotten that she was also in the room. "Be quiet." Harry turned towards her, his eyes filled with fury.

"No, you shut up," Harry said. He turned back to Umbridge, who was looking at the pair of them with a strange, hungry look in her eyes.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," Umbridge said coldly.

"It was murder," said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. "Voldemort killed him and you know it."

"Potter-san," Dove said, still sitting down, her back erect and her eyes glaring out from the holes of her mask. "I told you to shut up. You have spoken out of turn for long enough. The class does not need to hear this."

"He died," Harry said shakily, "he died, and now she –" he jabbed a finger at Umbridge, "- is saying that he died of some stupid accident."

"Everyone dies," Dove hissed, suddenly looking very dangerous, "but what right do you have to blurt out facts of Cedric Diggory's death so casually? Now sit down, shut up and read the damn book."

Dove said all that quietly, but her voice had a sharp edge to it. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest.

"And what right does _she _have to twist Cedric's death into something _accidental_?" Harry snarled, jerking his head towards Umbridge.

"Come here, Mr Potter," said a sudden, girlish voice. Harry turned to face Umbridge, and she was beckoning to him to come over to her. Harry kicked his chair aside, strode around Ron and Hermione and up to the teacher's desk. He could feel the rest of the class holding its breath. He felt so angry he did not care what happened next. "And you too, Miss Dove."

Dove stood up and walked towards Umbridge with a strange, almost feline grace. Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink and started scribbling, hunched over so that Harry or Dove could see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that no one could tear it open.

"Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear," said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to Harry.

He took it from her without saying a word, turned on his hell and left the room, not even looking back towards anyone. Dove followed him without hesitation and closed the door quietly behind her.

"What the hell do you want?" Harry asked savagely as he noticed Dove behind him.

"The one guarding you has to follow you," Dove said icily. "Listen to me, Potter-san. You have to learn to control your temper, or it will make your life hard, not only for yourself, but for us too. When you have detention, did you know that one of us has to waste his or her time to follow you to the old hag's office?"

"Does it look like I care?" Harry snapped, still walking very fast.

"Obviously not, you idiot." Harry ignored her.

They arrived at McGonagall's office and Harry rapped sharply on the door. It flew open to reveal the Transfiguration teacher, looking grim and harassed.

"Potter," she said, ignoring Dove. "Why aren't you in class?"

"I've been sent to see you," said Harry stiffly.

"Sent? What do you mean _sent_?" He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.

"Come in here, Potter, Dove." They followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind them.

"Well," said Professor McGonagall. "Is this true?"

"Is what true?" Harry asked rather more aggressively than he intended. "Professor?" he added, in an attempt to sound more polite.

"Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"You called her a liar?"

"Yes."

"You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?"

"Yes." Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, watching Harry closely. Then she said, "Have a biscuit, Potter."

"Have- what?"

"Have a biscuit," she repeated impatiently, indicating a tartan tin lying on top of one of the piles of papers on her desk. "And sit down." She offered a biscuit to Dove as well, who declined. Professor McGonagall set down Umbridge's note and looked very seriously at Harry.

"Potter, you need to be careful." Harry swallowed his mouthful of Ginger Newt and stared at her. Her tone of voice was not at all what he was used to; it was not brisk, crisp and stern; it was low and anxious and somehow much more human than usual.

"Misbehaviour in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you much more than house points and a detention."

"What do you-?"

"Potter, use your common sense," snapped Professor McGonagall, with an abrupt return to her usual manner. "You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting. And that goes for you guards as well." Dove stared coldly at her. The bell rang for the end of the lesson. Overhead and all around came the elephantine sounds of hundreds of students on the move.

"It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow," Professor McGonagall said, looking down at Umbridge's note again. "That includes Dove as well. She says that you disrupted her class." Dove raised an invisible eyebrow, but otherwise remained silent.

"Every evening this week!" repeated Harry, horrified. "But, Professor, couldn't you-?"

"No, I couldn't," said Professor McGonagall flatly.

"But-"

"She is your teacher and has every right to give you detention. You will go to her room at five o'clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember; tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge."

"But I was telling the truth!" said Harry, outraged.

"Sometimes, telling the truth will get you nowhere," Dove said quietly.

"Dove is quite right," she said. "And this isn't about telling the truth or not. This is about keeping your head down and your temper in check." She stood up and pointed him and Dove out of her office.

"Have a good day," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>:D<strong>

**Is it weird if Dove gets a detention too? Can you guys review and let me know what you think?**


	4. The Blood Quill

**Warning: the following rant contains spoilers to chapter 539.**

**WTFH? NEJI! HOW COULD YOU? WHY FREAKIN' WHY? YOU JUST FREAKIN' KILLED THEM AND YOU TURNED ALL EVIL WITH THIS EVIL SMIRK ON YOUR EVIL FACE WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT? YOU _SO_BETTER BE CONTROLLED BECAUSE IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU WERE ACTING ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL I'M GONNA FREAKIN' KILL YOUUUU! YOU'RE AN AWESOME CHARACTER DON'T GO ALL EVIL ON ME NOW!**

***Rant over***

**Ahem. Okay guys, for the sake of the story, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori and Kisame will be alive, along with Zetsu and Madara. This is just to make it more interesting. **

**And, thank you to: WinxPossible, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, bookist, howlingwindofthestorm, crystalmoon20, SimFlyer, Love it, ThePurpleSuperCow, DJ, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Hanzo of the Salamander, Nineveh03, Chrysantheme, BookWormForLife, tenshi-no-akuma-81 for reviewing.**

**Chapter Four: The Blood Quill**

* * *

><p>"You what?" Fox hissed dangerously.<p>

"I have got detention with Umbridge-san every night this week," Dove repeated calmly, oblivious to the anger radiating off her captain.

"Why?" Fox snarled.

"Because apparently I disrupted her class."

"And why the hell did you disrupt her class?"

"Because Potter-san was letting his mouth run away from him," Dove said. They were in the Great Hall, sitting at the Slytherin table. Fox's voice was slowly rising, and the students were starting to listen in with interest.

"That's not a good enough reason," Fox growled. He was so pissed he couldn't even enjoy his food properly. The poor plate of steak lay forgotten as the captain glared at his teammate. Then, Fox sighed, and all his anger seemed to float away.

"You don't even have to go," he said.

"I know that," Dove said. "But I just thought I should tell you."

"Dove, you will not be going to her detentions," Fox said. "But I want you to participate in only one, the one tomorrow night. The rest you don't have to go to. I want to see what she does to you."

"Yes, captain," Dove said tonelessly.

Harry stared the guards as he tried to eat his dinner in peace. News of Harry's shouting match with Umbridge had travelled through the castle quite fast, even for Hogwarts' standards. He set his knife and fork down (they were shaking too much for him to hold them steady) and he, Hermione and Ron left the Great Hall in an attempt to escape the whispers.

"Okay then," Fox said, resorting back to his collected ANBU demeanour. "If this happens again, I will send you straight back to Konoha, understand?"

_"Hai,"_ Dove said softly, not bothering to explain that she didn't really do anything wrong in the first place.

"This is heavy rain," Wolf said, watching the droplets splatter the windows. "Do you guys still want to train?" The others nodded. They stood up and body-flickered out of the Hall, leaving a large space at the Slytherin table.

The shinobi appeared outside in the pouring rain, getting soaked instantly. They travelled at high speed to the Forbidden Forest, where the giant trees gave them a little shelter from the wetness. It was dark, but the ninja were used to fighting in such conditions, and they started sparring immediately. It was an 'every man for himself' game, one that could last for hours, even days.

Two hours into the game, Fox felled a tree with his Rasengan. The ninja knew that was the signal to stop and they halted, listening to the tree crash down to the ground.

"Are you serious?" Dragon shouted over the sound of rain. "Can't we go on?"

"Yeah, I want to train more," Wolf said. Akamaru stood panting beside his master, but barked in agreement.

"No. We gotta head back now," Fox said. The ninja sighed but followed their captain. Raccoon was a little relieved; he didn't like rain, or any type of water in masses. It made his sand armour melt away and he couldn't use any of his sand techniques. He had had to fight with his katana, kunai and shuriken.

"Why so early, captain?" Slug asked, brushing aside her sopping pink hair.

"Guard duty," Fox said shortly. They entered the Entrance Hall, where they saw Professor Snape passing by. He took in their dirty, mud-stained clothes and dripping armour and curled his lip.

"Make sure you don't filthy the castle," he said before walking away. The shinobi ignored him and body-flickered up to the respective common rooms in which they were staying.

The ninja all had their own small closet and bathroom in each of the four houses' common room. None of them had any rooms, so they changed in the bathroom, kept their things in the closet, and slept out in the common room.

Raccoon and Hawk were currently walking up the stairs of the Slytherin common room towards their private, albeit small, bathroom before they were encountered by the notorious Draco Malfoy.

The Slytherin boy looked at them in disgust, before smirking.

"Well, well, well," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle appeared behind him. "What's happened to you?"

Hawk gave the blonde his signature Hyuuga glare.

"Move aside," Hawk said coldly. "I don't want to hear your foolishness tonight."

He and Raccoon swept past the trio and went up to their bathroom. Raccoon waited outside while Hawk used the shower inside.

After making sure the door was locked, Hawk removed his mask, sighing as he did so.

_"That Malfoy boy is and will be troublesome,"_ Raccoon said, striking up a conversation to seemingly nobody. Neji, however, heard him clearly, even though there was a door in the way.

_"Obviously," _Neji said, his voice echoing off the tiles of the bathroom. _"It's because his father is an important figure in the Ministry. Malfoy thinks that he has a lot of power."_

Raccoon slipped a hand under his mask and felt the mud that was slowly drying on his face. He went to the closet that was right beside the door of the bathroom, took the key out, unlocked the closet door and gathered up his spare bag of ANBU clothes. He only had two sets.

_"Hurry up,"_ Raccoon said. _"My clothes feel disgusting. I want a shower."_

_"We pretty much had a shower out there," _Neji replied. Raccoon glanced out the window where rain was lashing furiously, and agreed.

* * *

><p>Slug, dressed and clean, sat down in one of the comfy armchair in front of the fire. Dragon, who had also showered, sat next to her. There was silence between the two girls, but neither of them tried to break it. They were comfortable in each other's company. The only sounds were the Ravenclaws' murmurs around the pair and the scratching of quills.<p>

_"Who's taking tonight's shift?"_ Dragon asked.

_"Dove and Cat,"_ Slug said. _"Have you set up the traps outside the Ravenclaw common room?"_

_"Yeah," _Dragon said. _"The Ravenclaws are very quiet, aren't they?"_

_"Very studious," _Slug agreed. She looked at the window.

_"What a storm," _Dragon sighed. _"Hogwarts' weather isn't very nice, is it?"_

_"That's because you're used to the sunny days of Konoha," _Slug said. To anyone else, the conversation would have appeared to be brisk and short, but the two girls were close friends and they could see underneath the layer of coolness that enveloped the talk between them.

_"What time is it?"_ Dragon asked.

_"Eight forty. No one should be outside now," _Slug said. _"The curfew is eight forty five."_

_"Should we go check?"_ Dragon asked. Slug shook her head.

_"No, if any Ravenclaw student is found, Dove and Cat will take them here," _Slug said.

_"True," _Dragon said.

_"How's Hawk?" _Slug asked suddenly. Dragon glanced at her friend.

_"He's fine, why do you ask?" _Dragon said. Slug shrugged.

_"He was injured on his last mission," _Slug said. _"That shoulder wound he had should be healed, but I was worried he might have some problems with it."_

_"Oh, that," _Dragon recalled, _"I think he said that his shoulder was perfectly fine."_

_"Okay, that's good," _Slug said. She stared into the glowing depths of the fire, deep in thought.

_"Hmm," _Dragon said. _"That day when we were escorting Potter-san to the Hogwarts Express…"_

_"What about it?"_Slug questioned.

_"Well, there was a racket. Something about this man called Sturgis Podmore. He was supposed to be at Grimmauld Place that day, but he didn't show up," _Dragon said. _"I wonder why…"_

_"You think it's important?" _Slug asked curiously.

_"Could be," _the bun-headed girl said quietly. _"I don't know. Moody-san was very harassed."_

_"We'll look into it later," _Slug said.

_"Yeah."_

* * *

><p><em>"Is there anything out of place?"<em>

_"No. Everything's fine."_

_"Sure?"_

_"Would I lie to you?"_

_"Of course not."_

Cat scanned the hallways with her Byakugan, but then deactivated it when she saw that nothing was out of place. Dove jerked her head and Cat nodded. The two slipped in silence down a staircase and onto the floor below them. It was the same process, over and over again. Check the floor, go down the staircase to another floor, check it again, and they repeated it until all of Hogwarts castle had been had been ensured safe.

_"No students are out,"_ Cat said.

_"That's good,"_ Dove said. _"Are there any strange energies or chakra?"_ Cat shook her head.

_"Nothing,"_ Cat replied.

_"Tonight's going to be boring,"_ Dove said, _"so annoying."_

_"It's our mission,"_ Cat pointed out.

_"I know, I know,"_ Dove said. _"But it doesn't mean it's fun."_

_"Dove,"_ Cat said, _"have we got anything from Hokage-sama about the Akatsuki?" _

Dove glanced at her, startled for a second, not expecting the sudden change of topic.

_"I don't know," _Dove said, brushing her long fringe out of her eyes. _"Go and ask Fox. He's the captain and he's the one who gets all the letters from Konoha."_

_"Yeah," _Cat said quietly. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. _"I'm really worried."_

_"What about?" _Dove asked, cocking her head, _"The Akatsuki?"_

_"Yeah," _Cat said. _"They're really dangerous. We lost many good shinobi to them in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Even Asuma-sensei died because of them as well. And now they're looking for Fox."_

_"Yeah," _Dove said quietly. No tears came now when she thought about her old teacher. She knew that he wouldn't approve of her crying over him when he had already been gone for so long. However, the sadness in her heart could never be erased, and she knew that it would be there for the rest of her life.

_"Dove, there's student near the library," _Cat said, nudging her arm.

_"Let's go," _Dove said. The pair body-flickered up to where the student was. He was a third year Hufflepuff, and he clearly looked extremely spooked out when he saw the ninja seemingly appear out of nowhere.

The two escorted him back to the Hufflepuff common room and, after they had made sure he was inside, resumed guarding the hallways.

* * *

><p><em>"How's the report going on?"<em>Stag asked, bending over to look at what Fox was writing.

_"Almost finished,"_ Fox replied. He dipped his brush into the ink and began writing once more.

Akamaru, who was being petted by the first year girls, was trying in vain to get away from them. Wolf had his hands on the window sill and was staring out into the rain, seemingly oblivious to what was happening to his dog.

It was very loud in Gryffindor Tower. Fred and George Weasley were using first years as test subjects for their new sweets, which they had called 'Skiving Snackboxes'.

"_Do you think they really should be doing that?" _Stag asked softly, looking at the first years all slumped down on the floor. Fox glanced up at them, and then resumed his work.

_"As long as they don't kill them,"_ Fox mumbled. A few of the Gryffindors were laughing.

Hermione, however, looking furious, and she squared her shoulders and marched up to the twins.

"That's enough!" Hermione said forcefully to Fred and George, both of whom looked up in mild surprise.

"Yeah, you're right," said George, nodding, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"You can't test your rubbish on students!"

"We're paying them!" said Fred indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!"

"Rubbish," said Fred.

"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" said Lee reassuringly as he walked from first year to first year, inserting purple sweets into their open mouths.

"Yeah, look, they're coming round now," said George.

A few of the first years were indeed stirring. Several looked shocked to find themselves lying on the floor, or dangling off their chairs, and it was apparent that Fred and George had not warned them what the sweets were going to do.

"Feel all right?" said George kindly to a small dark-haired girl lying at his feet.

"I – I think so," she said shakily.

"Excellent," said Fred happily, but the next second Hermione had snatched both his clipboard and the paper bag of Fainting Fancies from his hands.

"It is NOT excellent!"

"Course it is, they're alive, aren't they?" said Fred angrily

"You can't do this, what if you made one of them really ill?"

"We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same –"

As Hermione and the twins continued arguing, Fox was clutching the brush harder and harder in his hand. He was starting to get kinda pissed off. But before he exploded, he caught himself.

_They're only kids,_ Fox thought. _I'm an ANBU. I shouldn't let my emotions control me. Great, now I sound like Sai. _

Fox's hidden eyebrows twitched as he turned slowly to glare at the source of all the commotion. Stag sighed and slapped his forehead.

"_Troublesome,"_ Stag muttered, _"so troublesome."_

"_Do you think you could get those three to shut up?" _Wolf asked irritably, jerking his head towards Hermione, Fred and George.

"Shut up," Fox said. His low, cold voice cut through all the noise, and as he desired, silence fell as the students looked at him fearfully, as though he might rip their heads off or something if they made another sound. Fox swept his infinite blue eyes over everyone before turning back to the scroll on his lap.

Slowly, the noise level grew again, though it wasn't as loud as before, and Wolf noticed Harry go up to the dorms. Wolf narrowed his already slitted eyes when he saw Harry rubbing his right temple, as though he was in pain.

* * *

><p>The next day was raining as well. Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain. There was too much rain. Cat was getting a little sick of it. She wanted some sunshine. But she wasn't the type of person to complain, and so she kept her mouth shut.<p>

Her eyes wandered over the ceiling of the Great Hall as she sat at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast. The owl delivery on the first morning had alarmed her, and she had pinned and almost killed a few of the birds with flying shuriken, until she learned that it was something of a common occurrence in the wizarding world. A cool breeze swept through the open doors, rustling her long, blue-black hair. There was a slight pressure next to her, indicating that Dragon had sat down.

"Good morning," Dragon said.

"And to you," Cat murmured. "What have you got on today?"

The weapons mistress sighed and rested her chin on her palm.

"I'm guarding the east side of the castle," she grumbled. "Not like there's anything there, anyway."

"I've got west side," Hawk said. He had appeared behind Cat, and he nodded to the two of them in greeting. He held a scroll in one hand, and he held it out to Cat. "This is for you."

Curious, Cat took it and immediately found that it was sealed.

_"Kai," _she said softly. The mark disappeared from the scroll and she unfurled it. "It's from father." Startled, Hawk stared at Cat with puzzled eyes.

_Cat,_

_I apologize for sending this while you are on a mission, but I thought you should know._

_Hanabi is sick. We don't know what's wrong with her. She seems to have some type of fever, but no medicine can subdue it. She had been admitted into Konoha hospital. Her condition is worsening by the day. _

_Hyuuga Hiashi_

Cat finished reading the scroll, and after she had done so she rolled it back up again. Her lips tightened, her fists balled.

"What's wrong?" Hawk asked, sensing her distress.

"Hanabi is sick," Cat said, staring blankly at him, "and they don't know what's wrong with her." Dragon laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," Dragon said. "She'll be fine. I met your sister, remember? She's a strong girl."

"Yeah," Cat said, not really convinced. Dragon sighed and changed tack.

"Idiot," she said softly, "there's no use worrying about Hanabi while you're on this mission. There's nothing you can do to help her, just believe in Hanabi and hope that she'll recover." Dragon ruffled Cat's hair affectionately. Cat gave her a little smile.

"Raccoon, you're with Potter-san today," Fox said, ghosting up to them. The students walking past all shied away from the ANBU captain.

_"Hai," _Raccoon said. He stood up from where he was sitting at the table and went off to find Harry.

The red head walked through the corridors, filled with students hurrying to their respective classes. They were obviously late. Raccoon found Harry in the Charms room, and Professor Flitwick had been lecturing the class on the OWLs just as Raccoon slipped in. No one noticed him.

Raccoon watched with idle interest as the students began revising the Summoning Charms, and the teacher rounded off the lesson by giving the class a pile of homework.

In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall made them practice the Vanishing Spell, which, judging from the frowns and moans from the class, was horribly difficult. At the end of the lesson, it seemed, only Hermione was able to successfully vanish her snail.

Raccoon noted the way Harry was rubbing his head, as though he had a head ache.

_I might be over-thinking this. It might just be a normal head ache,_ Raccoon thought as he walked down to Care of Magical Creatures behind the trio, _but better safe than sorry. Dumbledore-san _did _say that Potter-san had a connection with Voldemort via his scar…_

"Is your head hurting, Potter-san?" Raccoon murmured into Harry's ear. Harry yelped and twisted around, coming face to face with Raccoon's mask. The guard stood there feeling a little surprised about Harry's reaction; he thought Harry had heard him when he had come up behind him.

"Don't do that," Harry said angrily. Raccoon didn't bother to apologise. Hermione and Ron had stopped in their tracks, looking behind at Harry, who had turned to face the ninja.

"Well, is it?" Raccoon prompted.

"What is?" Harry said. He was unconsciously rubbing his head.

"Is your scar hurting?" Raccoon asked.

"No," Harry snapped, very forcefully. "I'm fine, thanks." Raccoon sighed and ran a hand through his red hair.

"If you say so," Raccoon muttered. He knew the boy was lying, but he didn't want to push Harry any further; he was already pissed. Information could wait.

The teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank, proceeded to show the class Bowtruckles. While the class surged forward to take a Bowtruckle and sketch it, Raccoon noticed Harry edge around the side and go up to Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Where's Hagrid?" Raccoon heard Harry ask.

"Never you mind," said Professor Grubbly-Plank.

Raccoon knew, of course, that Hagrid was away on a mission to look and recruit giants. But he didn't tell Harry that. He saw Malfoy whisper something to Harry, to which Harry promptly whispered back. Both looked disgusted at the sight of each other.

As Malfoy walked away, Raccoon glimpsed a fleeting look of worry pass over Harry's face.

"Don't worry about Hagrid-san," Raccoon said to Harry as the boy headed towards where Ron and Hermione sat.

"What would you know?" Harry asked icily. His anxious demeanour was lost as the guard spoke to him. Raccoon ignored the scarred boy and turned away.

Raccoon studied the Forbidden Forest with calculating eyes. He liked the look of it. It was interesting, but it didn't seem as dangerous as the Forest of Death back in the ninja world. He wanted to explore around, but his duty to Harry tied him here. He was jolted out of his thoughts as Harry's resounding yell echoed around.

"OUCH!"

Raccoon started and whipped around, a kunai in his hand, the familiar smell of blood filling his nose. He relaxed when he saw there was no danger, and it was only because a Bowtruckle had given Harry a swipe with his sharp fingers. It left two deep cuts on his hand.

When the bell echoed distantly over the grounds, Harry rolled up his blood-stained parchment and marched off to Herbology with his hand wrapped in Hermione's handkerchief, Malfoy's jibes, insults and laughter ringing in his ears.

"If Malfoy calls Hagrid a moron one more time…" said Harry through gritted teeth.

"Harry, don't go picking a fight with Malfoy; don't forget, he's a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…" Hermione said.

"Wow, I wonder what it'd be like to have a difficult life?" said Harry sarcastically. Ron laughed. Behind him, Raccoon stiffened, but did not say anything. Oh yes, how he would wonder…

When the door of the nearest greenhouse opened up, some fourth years spilled out. Fox trailed after them and when he spotted Raccoon, hurried over to him.

"Is everything alright?" Fox asked in a low voice. Raccoon nodded.

"I have some stuff to tell you, but not now," Raccoon said.

"Okay," Fox nodded. He glanced at the greenhouse behind him. "Raccoon, try not to go inside that greenhouse, it stinks."

Before Raccoon could question why, Fox had already body-flickered back to the group of fourth years.

"Hi," said Ginny brightly as she walked by Harry, Ron and Hermione. She hesitated when she saw Raccoon, but in the end she gave him a tentative smile. A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged. Raccoon recognised her as a same, strange, airy girl from the train. Luna spotted Harry and made a straight beeline for him.

"I believe He Who Must Not Be Named is back and I believe you fought him and escaped from him," Luna said in one breath when she reached him, without so much as a preliminary hello.

"Er – right," said Harry, thoroughly taken aback. As Luna walked away, Ernie Macmillan stepped up towards Harry as well.

"I want you to know, Potter," he said in a loud, carrying voice, "that it's not only weirdos who support you. My family have always stood firm behind Dumbledore, and so do I."

"Er – thanks very much, Ernie," said Harry, surprised but very pleased.

Raccoon observed the scene with his hands folded. It was apparent that Dumbledore held a lot of power, but none of the ninja were sure how much. Was Dumbledore this influential?

"What is that smell?" Raccoon asked, choking slightly. Hermione glanced behind her, pursed her lips, but answered him all the same.

"That's dragon dung," Hermione told him. "It's Professor Sprout's preferred type of fertiliser."

Raccoon resisted the urge to put a hand under his mask and over his nose. The smell was overpowering, especially for a ninja's trained senses.

_Fox was right. It _does _stink, _Raccoon thought. He winced when he thought of the long lesson ahead of him in the greenhouse.

Professor Sprout, like the other teachers Raccoon had witnessed, started off the lesson by lecturing the class on their OWLs. She, like her colleagues, ignored Raccoon, who hovered around behind the students.

_Just bear with it, _Raccoon chanted in his head. _Just bear with the smell. You'll be out of this stinking greenhouse soon. Just bear with it…_

An hour and a half later, when the bell rang, Raccoon body-flickered outside to where the blessed air was, not waiting for the students to go out first. Out of the corner of his eye, Raccoon noticed a fat toad hopping towards him. It had bright yellow skin and blue polka dots all over. It had a purple bandana wrapped around its neck with the Konoha symbol stitched onto it. Raccoon recognised it as one of Fox's summons.

_"Raccoon-san," _the toad said happily, bounding over to him.

_"Hello," _Raccoon said quietly. The Gryffindors all gasped and pointed at the toad when it talked, but Raccoon ignored them. _"What is it?"_

_"Two things: one, take the Potter boy straight to the Great Hall and swap over with Dove, coz she has a detention with him," _the toad said. Raccoon raised an invisible eyebrow at the Dove part, but did not comment. _"Two, there's a meeting tonight at ten o'clock in the Gryffindor common room. You know the password?"_

_"Hai," _Raccoon said. _"Is that all?"_

_"Yup," _said the toad.

_"Alright, thank you for the information," _Raccoon said politely. The toad bowed saluted cheerfully and hopped back off the castle.

* * *

><p>It was pink. It was so pink Harry almost gagged as he stepped his way towards Umbridge's desk. There were pink lacy covers draped on all the surfaces. There were several pink vases full of dried pink flowers, each resting on its own pink doily. On the wall was a large collection of pink ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolour kitten wearing a different ribbon around its neck. The carpet was pink, the walls were pink, heck, the only thing not pink was the door.<p>

"Good evening, Mr Potter," said a soft, sugary voice. Harry started and glanced around. He had not noticed Umbridge at first because she was wearing a set of luridly flowered robes that merged only too well with the pink tablecloth on the desk behind her. Umbridge gave Harry a sickening little smile, ignoring the guard that stood behind him, who was quite overwhelmed with the pinkness of the room.

"Evening, Professor Umbridge," said Harry stiffly.

"Well, sit down," she said, pointing towards a small table draped in lace beside which she had drawn up two straight-backed chairs. Dove went over to the table and sat, her footsteps making no noise on the thick pink carpet. Two pieces of blank parchment lay on the table, apparently waiting for them.

"You will be writing lines for me," Umbridge said with a sweet smile. "Mr Potter, you will be writing 'I must not tell lies'. Miss Dove, you will be writing 'I will not disrupt a class'."

Umbridge handed the two of them long black quills with an unusually sharp tip.

"Umbridge-san," Dove's voice blended in with the quiet. Umbridge cocked her head. "I will only be participating in this detention. I will not be doing any more. This was an order from my captain, and I listen only to him. You have no authority over me."

Umbridge stared at her with eyes filled with poison, recognising that what Dove said was true. Then, she smiled again.

"Very well," she said. "Now, please start. And I want you to write the lines in English, not Japanese."

"Um, Professor," Harry said, "you haven't given us any ink."

"Oh, you won't need any ink," said Umbridge, turning to him with a tiny laugh.

Dove was looking at the quill curiously. She wasn't exactly sure how to use it, was she supposed to hold it like a brush? Finally, she looked over at Harry and tried to mimic what he was doing.

_I must not tell lies._

Harry gasped in pain when he wrote those words. The words had appeared on the parchment in what appeared to be shining red ink. At the same time, the words had appeared on the back of Harry's right hand, cut into his skin as though traced there by a scalpel – yet even as he stared at the shining cut, the skin healed over again, leaving the place where it had been slightly redder than before but quite smooth. He glanced over at Dove, and almost gasped again.

Her whole piece of parchment was filled with the tiny, shining red words of _I must not disrupt a class_. Over and over again. She had almost reached the bottom of the page, her hand sprinting across the parchment. The cut hadn't had time to heal because she was writing too fast. Drops of blood were soaked across the page.

Blood was such a common smell to Dove that she almost didn't notice it. Only when she had finished did she realise that her hand was stinging slightly.

"Oh," she whispered in surprise. Umbridge and Harry looked over at her. She raised her right hand up, staring at it, and said in wonder, "I'm bleeding. When did this get here?"

She didn't notice the shocked expressions on their faces, or the way their mouths dropped open. She then glanced at the parchment, then at the words engraved on the back of her hand. Her eyes hardened.

"Why am I writing in my own blood?" she asked, her voice cold. "Is this some kind of torture device?" That question was directed at Umbridge.

"No, no," Umbridge said sweetly, getting over her shock, "it's just a special quill of mine."

"I have no paper," Dove said bluntly. Umbridge swallowed and said, "Give me your hand."

Unwillingly, Dove stretched her arm out and Umbridge grasped it, inspecting the words closely.

"You may go," Umbridge said. Dove withdrew her hand, but stayed in her seat.

"I wait here until Potter-san's finished," she said quietly. Rivers of blood oozed from the wound, but Dove ignored it.

A few hours later, Umbridge dismissed Harry as well. Dove went to his common room with him, seeing that she had a meeting there as well.

It was around nine-thirty, but all the ANBU were sitting around the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

Harry looked at the quiet, masked figures that looked oddly impressive for a second before going up to his dormitory.

_"I smell blood,"_ Raccoon said.

_"What happened to your hand?" _Slug asked, standing up and walking over to Dove.

_"Umbridge-san," _Dove said. _"She has this strange quill that makes you write in your own blood, and whatever you're writing gets cut into the back of your hand."_

Fox, who was staring at Dove's wound with an angry look in his eye, uttered a disgusted sound.

_"We're ANBU, so we're used to torture,"_ Fox said. _"But to civilians, such as these wizards, who are not used to physical pain, that quill you are talking about is an equipment of torture. It's not an extreme class of torture; it's on a rather low level, but its torture nonetheless."_

_"I doubt that woman's allowed that kind of thing,"_ Hawk said.

There were a few seventh year Gryffindors still in the common room, and they exchanged dissatisfied looks once they realised that the ninja were speaking in Japanese and they could not understand what was going on.

_"Should we report her to Dumbledore-san?" _Dragon asked. Fox considered that for a few minutes.

_"I think,"_ he said slowly, _"not."_

_"What? Why?" _Slug asked, staring at her captain in surprise. Fox was silent.

_"I think Dumbledore-san already knows,"_ Fox said finally. _"Plus, she's harming our charge. We can no longer ignore her. We'll deal with her ourselves."_

_"Hai, captain,"_ the others intoned.

_"Is there anything else to report?"_ Fox asked.

_"I noticed that Potter-san keeps rubbing his head as though it hurts," _Raccoon said.

_"I saw that too,"_ Wolf nodded.

_"Do you think it has anything to do with his scar?"_ Cat asked. _"Remember what Dumbledore-san told us about the connection?"_

_"Could be,"_ Fox said. _"We'll ask him tomorrow."_

_"Am I going to Potter-san to his detention tomorrow to?"_ Dove asked.

_"Hawk can go,"_ Fox decided, _"alright. You're all dismissed. Stag, you come with me and guard the castle tonight."_

All the guards got up silently to leave, before a clicking sound at the window alerted them to something. Fox looked over, a kunai in his hand, and saw a hawk. It was staring at him with large amber eyes, a large scroll tied to its legs.

_"That's from Konoha," _Fox said and hurried over to open the window.

_"What does it say?" _Dove asked. Fox untied the scroll, released the seal and unrolled it. The others waited anxiously behind him. They all felt tension emit from their captain, and the worry intensified. Finally, Fox looked up.

_"They can't find Kisame," _Fox said, all trace of warmth gone from his voice. It was empty. _"Kisame is gone, and Tsunade-baa-chan thinks that he's gone to the wizarding world. I don't know how or why, but it seems as though he's gotten in contact with Voldemort." _

* * *

><p><strong>Looking back, I realise that my previous chapters seem as though I have an I-hate-Harry syndrome. I don't XD I think Harry's fine, a little angsty at times, but all in all he's an alright character. I kinda made the guards 'hate' him because to them he is weak and too emotional. It'll get better as the story proceeds. Don't worry.<strong>


	5. Trained in Combat

**Yes! I can reply to reviews now!**

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**Thanks to: Reader, Furionknight, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, WinxPossible, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Jupiter567, SimFlyer, Hanzo of the Salamander, ThePurpleSuperCow, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Sylvia.I, Spider's Thread, Octopus123**

**Chapter Five: Trained in Combat**

* * *

><p>Harry was followed to all his detentions by one ninja guard. Nothing was said at all during the evenings by Umbridge, Harry or any of the shinobi.<p>

At the end of his Thursday detention, however, the message _I must not tell lies_ had stopped fading from Harry's hand and now it oozed droplets of blood.

Raccoon, who was the one guarding him that night, took Harry all the way to Gryffindor tower, but instead of leaving him in front of the portrait hole as he usually did, Raccoon entered as well.

Fox, Stag and Wolf were all sitting in front of the fire in the armchairs, but strangely, Slug was also there. Harry had never seen her inside the Gryffindor common room before, and he heard that Slug stayed with the Ravenclaws. The firelight illuminated her mask, reflecting her unfeeling eyes. Fox, Wolf and Stag stayed silent, observing him, though Fox had shifted when he smelled the blood.

"Come here," Slug said, not even bothering to greet him. Harry edged forward nervously. "Give me your hand."

Harry hesitated. Slug sighed impatiently.

"I'm not going to kill you," she said irritably. Harry gave her his hand. Slug held it up so she could see it better. Her hand felt callused; the result of spending many years wielding kunai and shuriken.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked. His eyelids were drooping slightly. Umbridge's detentions left him little time to do his homework and sleep.

Slug didn't answer, but she held her free hand over the cut. Harry gasped when her palm began glowing, and the skin on Harry's hand began to mend itself. In no time, it was healed, but there was still a faint scar there. The scar that bore the words _I must not tell lies._

Harry inspected it closely, and when he looked up again, Slug had disappeared. He glanced around, and noticed that Raccoon was also gone.

"They have their shifts tonight," Fox said as a way of explanation. "Now go to bed."

Harry obeyed without question. He noticed that Fox's voice sounded vaguely tired, as though he had had not gone to sleep for many nights.

As Harry went up to his dorm, the common room door opened, and a white cat leapt in gracefully. It had the Konoha headband around its neck. Fox instantly recognised it as one of Cat's summons.

"Good evening," Fox greeted the feline. Wolf sat up straighter; Akamaru sniffed the cat, but left it alone. Stag did not move a muscle. He appeared to be sleeping, but Fox knew better; he was really wide awake.

"My name is Michiru," the cat said, "I have a report from Cat-sama."

"Continue."

"Weasley-san has been leaving the tower of Gryffindor every night since Tuesday," Michiru said. Fox nodded.

"I'm aware of that fact," Fox said. Michiru inclined her head.

"The reason is that he is practicing the sport that wizards find enjoyable," Michiru said. "Quidditch, I believe it is called."

"He is leaving Gryffindor tower to play Quidditch?" Wolf repeated.

"We let him go out because we wanted to see what he was up to with a guard tailing him," Stag mumbled lazily, joining in on the conversation, "but it turns out he was only playing that wizard sport. Troublesome."

"If that's the case, then tell Cat to bring him back," Fox commanded. "I'm going to have a little chat with Weasley-san."

"Hai," Michiru said. She bounded out, flicking her white tail.

"Cat's summons are so well behaved," Wolf commented. "Remember that tabby cat? I think its name was Yusuke."

"That one was annoying," Fox said. "He kept on asking me if I wanted a bowl of milk, or a blanket to cover myself with."

"Or if I wanted some roasted mice," Wolf recalled with a shudder. "He was overly polite. It's like he was a servant or something."

Ten minutes later, the common room door opened again. This time, Ron's sullen face came into view, along with the mask of Cat. The kunoichi nodded at Fox, and left, vanishing in a wisp of smoke.

"Weasley-san," Fox said sternly, his voice flat. Ron winced, knowing he was in trouble. "What time do you think it is?"

"Ten o'clock," Ron mumbled. His ears had started to go red.

"What's the curfew?" Wolf asked icily.

"Eight forty five."

"We do not make exceptions. How long has this been going on?"

The guards knew, of course, that Ron had only been out for a few days, but that didn't stop them from asking him. It was strangely funny to watch him squirm.

"Since Tuesday," Ron said, his voice barely a whisper.

"You're lucky we caught you when we did. What if something happened to you out there?" Stag asked, nodding his head towards the window. This was also a lie; they had known from the beginning, and had set Cat to follow him stealthily.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Ron said. His entire face was now red.

"You betcha it won't," Fox said. "If this happens again, it's going to be a Saturday detention for you."

Ron nodded, and Fox jerked his head to the dorms, signalling that he was free to leave. Ron was glad to do so.

Once Ron was upstairs, Fox ghosted up the stairs, and paused outside Harry's and Ron's dorm. He heard the two talking quietly. Harry was questioning Ron why he was out so late, and Ron revealed that he had been practicing Quidditch with the hope of becoming Gryffindor's new Keeper.

* * *

><p>Friday dawned as gloomy and sodden as the rest of the week. Nothing of major importance happened that day, apart from the fact that this was to be Harry's last detention with Umbridge. Friday was also the day of the new Keeper tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.<p>

This time, it was Dragon who accompanied him to Umbridge's office. Harry was disappointed that he couldn't see Ron trying out, but consoled himself by thinking that after this detention he would be free.

At five o'clock that evening he knocked on Umbridge's door and was told to enter. Harry could feel discomfort radiating from Dragon, who seemed to think that there was a little too much pink for this office. The blank piece of parchment lay waiting for Harry at the lace-covered table, with the long black Blood Quill next to it.

"You know what to do, Mr Potter," said Umbridge, smiling sweetly at him. She paid no attention to Dragon, who stood erect behind Harry, and she stayed that way for the rest of the night.

_I must not tell lies._

_I must not tell lies._

_I must not tell lies._

The cut on his hand, which had been healed by Slug the night before, reopened again. Dragon stared at it, not moving, not making a sound, but anger was evident in the way she held herself.

The Quidditch players outside zoomed around the air. Harry chanced a look at them now and then. Some of the hopeful Keepers were extremely bad, but at this distance, Harry could not make out which one was Ron.

_I must not tell lies._

Night had fallen, and Harry's hand was searing with pain. The Quidditch pitch was no longer visible.

"Let's see if you've got the message yet, shall we?" said Umbridge's soft voice half an hour later.

She moved towards him, stretching out her short ringed fingers for his arm. And then, as she took hold of him to examine the words now cut into his skin, pain seared, not across the back of his hand, but across the scar on his forehead. At the same time, he had a most peculiar sensation somewhere around his midriff.

_SLAP!_

Umbridge withdrew her hand from shock, nursing it gently as a pink mark slowly started to appear on the skin. She glared furiously at Dragon, who had appeared between Harry and Umbridge. Harry, too, was surprised.

"You're hurting him," Dragon said softly. She had seen pain flash across Harry's face, and recognised it as unusual. Since it had happened at exactly the same time Umbridge had touched Harry, she had assumed that the teacher was to blame. Quickly, though, Umbridge regained her composure.

"Well, I think I've made my point, Mr Potter. You may go."

He did not answer. Harry's heart was thumping very hard and fast. Was she talking about his hand or did she know what he had just felt in his forehead?

He caught up his schoolbag and left the room as quickly as he could, Dragon shadowing him.

_Stay calm,_ he told himself as he sprinted up the stairs. _Stay calm, it doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means..._

"Potter-san," Dragon said quietly, in front of the Gryffindor common room. "Did your scar hurt?"

Harry turned slowly to face her.

"No," he said bluntly. "It's fine. She just pressed on the cut a little too hard."

Dragon stared at him silently, to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable.

"You're sweating," she noted. "You're shaking, your face is white, and your heartbeat is faster than normal. It was your scar, wasn't it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Harry didn't answer her, but still, she ploughed on.

"Did you see anything?" she asked. Harry glared at her, and then turned to face the Fat Lady. He said the password, and a roar of sound greeted him. He glanced back at where Dragon should have been, but she was gone.

As he entered, Ron came running towards him, beaming all over his face and slopping Butterbeer down his front from the goblet he was clutching.

"Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!"

"What? Oh – brilliant!" said Harry, trying to smile naturally.

Fox, who was sitting near the window with Wolf, was rubbing his temples and frowning.

"So much noise," Fox complained.

"Potter-san looks strange," Wolf said. "He's a little pale."

"He is," Fox said, looking at Harry. The boy was walking over to a dozing Hermione, and after he woke her up, he started telling her what had happened in Umbridge's office.

Stag ghosted around behind the pair, and overheard everything that Harry said.

"You're worried You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?" Hermione said. Stag decided it was time to interfere.

"Who's Quirrell?" Stag asked, making Harry and Hermione jump in surprise. "He sounds troublesome."

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other. Stag caught the look.

"If you don't tell me, I'll just go and ask Dumbledore-san," Stag said.

"He was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in our first year," Harry said, unwilling to give him information. "He was possessed by Voldemort."

Hermione jumped a little when Harry said the Dark wizard's name. Harry and Stag both ignored this.

"It may just be a coincidence," Fox said. He appeared behind Stag, and his voice was deadly serious.

"He could also have her under the Imperious Curse," Harry said, ignoring Fox and Stag, and only facing Hermione. "He's already got his own body."

Fox hissed in frustration. The boy had a major attitude problem.

"But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn't Dumbledore say it had to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time?" Hermione said, sparing a quick glance at the guards. She wasn't sure whether or not to include them. The ninja had entered the conversation, but Harry was pushing them out of it.

"She's evil," said Harry flatly, "twisted."

"She's horrible, yes, but… Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt."

"I'm not bothering him with this. It's not a big deal. It's been hurting on and off all summer – it was just a bit worse tonight, that's all –"

"Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore would _want_ to be bothered by this –"

"Yeah," said Harry, before he could stop himself, "that's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it, my scar?"

_"It seems as though the relationship between Potter-san and Dumbledore-san is a little shaky,"_ Stag said. Fox agreed.

"And you," Hermione snapped, directing her glare towards the two shinobi, "did you know that it's considered rude to talk to people in another language when they're right in front of you?"

"Well, Potter-san was ignoring us, wasn't he?" Fox said. "Don't you think that's rude?"

A little annoyed, Fox went off to sit with Wolf. Stag gave Hermione and Harry one last glance before joining his comrades. Hermione turned her exasperated face towards the scarred boy.

"What?" Harry asked, when Hermione gave him The Look.

"You could try to act more mature," Hermione said wearily. "You don't want to make the guards upset."

Harry gave a short bark of sarcastic laughter.

"_Upset_?" Harry repeated. "Hermione, they're ninja. Me ignoring them is not going to make them _upset_. They have hearts of steel. I doubt they feel anything anymore."

How wrong he was. How very, very wrong.

"Harry…" Hermione said, but the boy had stood up.

"I'm going to bed," Harry said, not meeting Hermione's gaze, "'night, Hermione."

Hermione watched Harry's retreating back, before finally deciding to go up to bed as well.

Harry had been on edge lately. With all the detentions, the homework, the sleepiness, the ninja… it was all becoming unbearable. He had started to become pissed easily, like a bomb waiting to explode. It was only a matter of time before he did.

* * *

><p><em>TRESSPASS AT MINISTRY<em>

_Sturgis Podmore, 28, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentence to six months in Azkaban._

_"Sturgis Podmore,"_ Dove said slowly. _"Fox, this was the man who was supposed to be at Headquarters on the day Potter-san and his companies were going to take the Hogwarts Express."_

_"So that's why he wasn't there,"_ Fox recalled. He snatched the news article out of Dove's hands and scanned over it quickly. _"I knew something was off, but I didn't pay much attention to it." _

_"A door,"_ Cat said thoughtfully. _"The Order are guarding a door, aren't they?"_

_"Yeah,"_ Fox said, _"though Dumbledore-san wouldn't give me the details." _

_"Do you think Podmore is a spy?"_ Raccoon asked.

_"Might be possible,"_ Slug said. _"But the Ministry may have lured him there."_

_"Lured?"_ Dragon said, surprised. _"Why would they do that?"_

_"He's with Dumbledore,"_ Hawk said coolly. _"They want to do some framing. Have you read the things that the Ministry say about him? They want to get rid of him."_

_"Stupid,"_ Stag muttered, _"absolutely troublesome."_

_"That would be like trying to get rid of Hokage-sama,"_ Wolf agreed.

_"_Potter-san is going," Fox said, sighing heavily. "I better go watch over him. Cat, Slug, Dove, Stag, you guys guard the castle today."

_"_Yes, captain."

The sky was a clear, sapphire blue. White clouds drifted across it, and the sun shone down. Fox smiled secretly. This was the weather he liked.

He watched Harry and Ron zoom around the Quidditch pitch as they practiced, but then turned his mind on other things… such as the Akatsuki.

Kisame was missing; Tsunade mentioned that he had gotten into contact with Voldemort. What was he planning to do? Were they reaching some kind of agreement? If Kisame managed that, then he probably would bring over Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu and Madara. They would be in very deep shit if he did.

Harry and Ron practiced for a few hours, then went back inside for lunch, and then out again for their real Quidditch practice with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Unfortunately, there were some unwanted spectators.

"How are things here?" Raccoon asked, joining Fox as he stared up at the flying players.

"Slytherin and Gryffindor are rivals," Fox commented. Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team were jeering and shouting out curses. He watched as Ron, who seemed to be the most affected, turned red and fumbled more and more every time Quaffle came his way.

"I don't understand this game," Fox said in a frustrated voice after five minutes. Raccoon made an amused sound.

"It's really not that hard," Raccoon said. "See the big red ball?"

"There are heaps of balls flying around up there," Fox grumbled. Raccoon rolled his eyes.

"The _red_ one."

"Yeah?"

"Three players have to use that ball to score."

"You mean put it through the hoop?"

"Exactly. The two black balls try to knock the players off their brooms."

"Interesting…"

"And two players have the clubs to beat those two balls back."

"O-kay…"

"I think Potter-san is trying to find the tiny golden ball."

"The one buzzing around the hoops?"

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't Potter-san go catch it?"

"I doubt he can see as well as us."

The conversation lasted for quite a while, before both Fox and Raccoon tensed when they smelled the irony-tang scent of blood.

"Katie Bell is bleeding," Fox said, relaxing. "I think Weasley-san hit her with the big red ball."

"Evidently," Raccoon said dryly. Fox mock-punched him.

"We should use this pitch to train," Fox said, a note of admiration in his voice. "It's quite big."

"I'm out of shape," Raccoon said. "My sand hasn't been used properly for a while."

"Yeah…"

"What do you think of the newspaper article?" Raccoon asked, turning serious. Fox ran a hand through his hair, sighing.

"I don't know," Fox said. "We've got enough to worry about. Remember, the Akatsuki are also posing a threat."

"True that," Raccoon said, turning to face the sky. "But such is the life of a shinobi. Danger never leaves us."

Fox gave him a half smile.

After Fred and George Weasley left to take Katie to the Hospital Wing, the rest of the Gryffindor team headed back to the common room. Fox looked longingly at the pitch, and then made a Kage Bunshin to follow Harry back up to the castle. He then turned to face Raccoon, who had raised an imaginary eyebrow.

"Want to spar?" Fox asked. Raccoon sighed.

"Alright, but I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Good."

* * *

><p>Sirius appeared in the Gryffindor fireplace later that night, although when he did Fox, Wolf and Stag attempted to attack him.<p>

Fox chucked a few kunai into the fire, missing Sirius on purpose; if it was an intruder, it was just to scare him. Akamaru growled threateningly at Sirius' head, and Stag prepared some shadow jutsu.

"Wait," Harry said, trying to hold them back. "It's alright. It's Sirius."

"Why is Black-san's head in the fire?" Fox hissed, never taking his eyes off the fire.

"Floo powder," Hermione said. She didn't bother to explain.

"It could be a trap," Wolf said.

"Seriously, you worry too much. Not everything is going to kill you, you know," Harry snapped. He turned to face his godfather, who was looking at the shinobi warily. "Hello, Sirius."

Sirius and Harry began talking, with Ron and Hermione adding in their bit of dialogue every once in a while. The ninja didn't listen for the first part of the conversation, until something caught their attention.

"Dumbledore said my scar hurt whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion," said Harry.

"Well, now he's back it's bound to hurt more often," said Sirius.

"So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?" Harry asked.

"Dragon reported to me about that incident," Fox said, interrupting them. "But she said she did not feel any evil or negative aura coming off her."

"Right," said Harry, barely listening to what Fox said. He just wanted to talk to Sirius.

"I don't think so," Sirius said, answering Harry's previous question. "I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater –"

"She's foul enough to be one," said Harry darkly, and Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters," said Sirius with a wry smile. "I know she's a nasty piece of work, though – you should hear Remus talk about her."

The ninja tuned out again, and then tuned back in after about five minutes.

"So, what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Sirius asked. "Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"

"No," said Harry. "She's not letting us use magic at all!"

"All we have to do is read the stupid textbook," said Ron.

"Ah, well, that figures," said Sirius. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Trained in combat!" repeated Harry incredulously. "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"

_Trained in combat,_ Fox said. A bright idea flashed in his mind. A_ccording to Black-san, that is what the Ministry fears most. Combat… eh?_

"Stag, Wolf," Fox murmured. "I've got an idea…"

"I'm getting worried," Wolf said. Stag merely looked at him. Fox was saying that with the air of someone who had just come up with a bright scheme and was planning to use it as soon as possible because it was so awesome.

"Stag, could you get everyone to gather for a meeting right now?" Fox asked. His voice was carefully measured and level, betraying none of the emotions he felt inside.

"Fine," Stag sighed. "Troublesome."

* * *

><p><em>"What is it now?"<em> Slug asked curiously. The other shinobi had come, as Fox had instructed, and they all now stood, or sat, in a loose circle in the Gryffindor common room.

_"We're going to teach the students some taijutsu,"_ Fox announced.

There was a shocked silence after he said that, and then a quiet uproar.

_"What the hell are you talking about?"_ Wolf growled.

_"Teach the students taijutsu? Are you out of your freaking mind?"_ Dove hissed.

_"We're not allowed to, they're not citizens of Konoha or Suna,"_ Raccoon said quietly.

_"Raccoon's right. We're not allowed to show outsiders any techniques,"_ Hawk said calmly, though his eyes were burning behind his mask.

_"Are you planning to try and make them learn jutsu next? You're going to kill them!"_ Dragon snarled.

_"Why do we have to teach them anything?"_ Cat asked, her voice disapproving.

Fox waited until all the quiet shouting had subdued before speaking again. Stag did not seem surprised; it was as though he was expecting it.

_"They are too reliant on their wands,"_ Fox said. _"They need to learn something other than magic. Just like we have to learn things other than jutsu, we have to learn taijutsu, in case our chakra reserve ever runs dry."_

_"They are not ninja,"_ Hawk said. _"Have you seen their physique? They don't exercise at all, and Quidditch is the only sport they play, except that's not every physical either. All they do is sit on a long stick and fly around. It will be a strain on their bodies if they try to learn taijutsu."_

_"Not to mention the fact that outsiders aren't meant to learn anything about the ninja world,"_ Slug said. Fox sighed.

_"All we're going to do is teach them basic taijutsu,"_ he said. _"We could call it self defence. We're not going to teach them any jutsu, anyway. They pretty much have no chakra at all."_

_"You also want to do this because of Umbridge,"_ Stag said, his lips twitching. Fox glanced at the genius.

_"Somewhat,"_ Fox said. _"Plus, it will be good for the kids."_

Silence fell again as the ninja looked at one another.

_"Well, you're the captain, so we trust you,"_ Dove sighed. Softly, the others concurred.

_"Alright then,"_ Fox said, glad that his team was cooperating. _"I'll run this idea past Dumbledore, see if he agrees."_

"You do that," Dragon said, switching back to English. "We have to get back to guarding. Let's go, Slug."

The weapons mistress and medic ninja left the common room, and in pairs, the remaining shinobi disappeared as well.

* * *

><p>"Hogwarts High Inquisitor?" Harry repeated darkly. "What does <em>that<em> mean?"

The trio read the article on Umbridge, which was titled "_MINISTORY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR."_

"The Ministry must be crap," Wolf said after he read the article. He looked over at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were discussing the recent turn of events in low voices.

"What's everyone milling around here for?" Hermione asked curiously. There was a large group of students concentrated around the bulletin board, and the trio struggled to the front. Harry's eyes widened when he saw the notice displayed. It was relatively short and dull, but it conveyed the meaning nonetheless.

_SELF DEFENCE LESSONS_

_Every Saturday from 10am – 2pm. Taught by the guards._

_Meet at 9:45 in the Great Hall_

"Self defence?" Hermione echoed faintly.

"That sounds kinda cool," Ron said. He turned to his two friends. "Do you guys want to join?"

"I don't know," Harry said doubtfully. "We have heaps of homework." In truth, he didn't exactly want to go to a class taught by sadistic ninja.

"Potter-san, you are required to go," said a cold voice behind him. Harry turned and saw Fox. "You have no choice in the matter."

Anger flared up inside him. He was sick of people deciding everything for him, repressing him.

"I don't have the time," Harry said irritably. "I have heaps of homework to do."

"I told you, you have no choice in the matter," Fox said. He turned and disappeared with a _poof_.

"Argh!" Harry snarled, pulling at his hair.

"Well, since you're going, I'll go as well," Ron said, patting his arm sympathetically.

"I'm coming," Hermione said. "I really want to see how the ninja fight."

"Excuse me," Cat said quietly behind them. "I think you are all late to class."

Alarmed, Hermione checked her watched and gasped.

"We are _so_ late," Hermione whispered and they all pelted to History of Magic.

"Hermione, it's just Professor Binns, he won't even care whether we're there or not," Ron said consoling as they hurtled down the corridors.

"Yes, but I have to take notes," Hermione said. Thankfully, they were only about five minutes late, and the ghost teacher didn't even look up as the three entered his classroom. Cat slipped in as well, and sat herself at the very back bench.

After History of Magic came Potions. Snape stalked around the class handing the students back their moonstone essays. Cat saw that Harry had received a 'D'. She watched in interest as the class went about making their potion for the day. She noticed that Harry seemed determined today not to give Snape an excuse to fail him, and he read each line carefully before acting upon it. She approved of the boy's actions.

After lunch, Cat followed the trio to Divination. After not fainting from the excessive perfume in the tower, Cat immediately went for the seat beside the window. She felt sorry for Wolf, as she knew about his keen sense of smell. He would surely pass out in a room like this.

Cat shifted quietly when she noticed Umbridge enter the room. She had heard about Umbridge becoming the High Inquisitor, and knew that she would be inspecting classes.

Professor Trelawney seemed a little perturbed that Umbridge was here, and she didn't seem as mystical today as she normally was.

Cat switched on her Byakugan, and saw that Trelawney wasn't faring very well in Umbridge's notes. Poor woman.

In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry yet again landed himself with another week's worth of detention with Umbridge for speaking out of line. Cat was growing decidedly weary of Harry's outbursts.

* * *

><p>The cut on the back of Harry's hand re-opened once again as he wrote <em>I must not tell lies<em> over and over again. The very worst part of his second week back at school was Angelina's reaction. He had already missed the Keeper's tryouts, and now he couldn't go to practice again.

She cornered him just as he arrived at the Gryffindor table to for breakfast on Tuesday and shouted so loudly that Professor McGonagall came sweeping down upon the pair of hem from the staff table.

"Miss Johnson, how _dare_ you make such a racket in the Great Hall! Five points from Gryffindor!"

"But Professor – he's gone and landed himself in detention _again_ –"

"What's this, Potter?" said McGonagall sharply, rounding on Harry. "Detention? From whom?"

"From Professor Umbridge," muttered Harry, not meeting her beady, square-framed eyes.

"Are you telling me," she said, lowering her voice so that the group of curious Ravenclaws behind them could not hear, "that after the warning I gave you last Monday you lost your temper in Professor Umbridge's class again?"

"Yes," Harry muttered, speaking to the floor.

"Potter, you must get a grip on yourself! You are heading for serious trouble! Another five points from Gryffindor!"

"But – what? Professor, no!" Harry said, furious at this injustice, "I'm already being punished by _her_, why do you have to take points as well?"

"Because detentions do not appear to have any effect on you whatsoever!" said Professor McGonagall tartly. She strode back towards the staff table. Angelina gave Harry a look of deepest disgust and stalked away, upon which he flung himself on the bench beside Ron, fuming.

"Potter-san!"

Harry cringed inwardly. The voice of Fox did not sound very pleased.

"What now?" he muttered. He turned to face the towering figure of the ANBU captain.

"You got yourself detention _again_," Fox snapped. "When are you going to control yourself? You wasted about three hours of Cat's time last night."

"I don't care about Cat's time," Harry said, annoyed. Fox growled.

"This isn't about Cat's time," Fox said. "It's about keeping your temper in check and staying out of Umbridge's way."

"I think I know that," Harry said.

"Do you?" Fox asked, his eyes flashing, "Because if you do then you would stop this childishness and keep your toe in line." He started to turn and held his fingers up in a strange position. Harry remembered that whenever the guards _poofed_ away, they would hold their fingers up like that. "Don't forget to come to self defence on Saturday."

Before Harry could retort, however, Fox had disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

"I hate my life," Harry muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>I'll just end it there, shall I?<strong>

***SPOILER ALERT* In regards to Naruto chapter 540:**

**Thank god! Neji did not turn evil *relieved sigh* **

**You had no idea how happy I was when I saw the real Neji still on the battle field :D**

***End spoiler***


	6. Do It Ourselves

**I think school is trying to kill me. **

**I have an assignment and two exams for Physics, an hour and a half exam for Maths, an hour and a half exam for English, four pieces of assessment for Music, an exam for Health Studies, an assignment and an exam for History, two exams for French, an oral for Geography and a test for EM. **

**WTH?**

**The reviewers: Hanzo of the Salamander, Furionknight, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, WinxPossible, Jupiter567, BookWormForLife, BloodKitsune11, Rinfan595**

**Chapter Six: Do It Ourselves**

* * *

><p>"Well," said Hermione tentatively. "You know, I was thinking today…" she shot a slightly nervous look at Harry and then plunged on, "I was thinking that – maybe the time's come when we should just – just do it ourselves."<p>

Harry and Wolf had just come back from Umbridge's detention. The former had discovered his two friends in conversation, and the latter sat down with Fox and Stag, both of whom were watching the fire.

"Do what ourselves?" said Harry suspiciously. He glanced at his two friends and caught the look that was shared between them.

_"What's going on?"_ Wolf muttered.

_"Granger-san and Weasley-san were thinking about Potter-san teaching a group of students Defence Against the Dark Arts… behind Umbridge's back,"_ Fox said. _"They just need Potter-san to agree with it. Apparently he's the best in the year."_

_"It sounds troublesome,"_ Stag grumbled. _"A bunch of brats running around learning dangerous spells… who knows what might happen."_

"Well, we should start to learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves," Hermione said.

"Come off it," groaned Ron. "You want us to learn extra work? D'you realise that Harry and I are behind on homework again and it's only the second week of school?"

"But this is much more important than homework!" said Hermione.

Both Harry and Ron goggled at her. Even Fox raised a hidden eyebrow at the serious tone of her voice.

"I didn't think there was anything in the universe more important than homework," said Ron. Hermione seemed to miss the sarcasm in the words.

"Don't be silly, of course there is," said Hermione. Her face was alight with the enthusiasm only S.P.E.W could stir up in her. Harry suddenly felt a little nervous. "It's about preparing ourselves for what's out there. It's about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year –"

"We can't do much by ourselves," said Ron in a defeated voice. "I mean, all right, we can go and look up jinxes in the library and try and practise them, I suppose –"

"No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books," said Hermione. "We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong."

_"They're setting this up,"_ Wolf said, _"the two of them. They're trying to draw Harry to the fact that they want him as their teacher."_

_"Obviously,"_ said Stag dryly.

"If you're talking about Lupin being our teacher…" Harry began.

"No, no, I'm not talking about Lupin," said Hermione. "He's too busy with the Order and, anyway, the most we could see him is during Hogsmeade weekends and that's not nearly often enough."

"Who, then," said Harry, frowning at her.

Hermione heaved a very deep and long suffering sigh.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said. "I'm talking about _you_, Harry."

There was a moment's silence. Harry stared at her. A light night breeze rattled the windowpanes behind Ron, and the fire guttered.

"About me what?" said Harry.

"I'm talking about _you_ teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry stared at her. Then he turned to Ron, expecting him to be exasperated. But instead, he was frowning slightly, apparently thinking. Then he said, "That's an idea."

_"They definitely set this up,"_ Wolf said.

_"We know they did,"_ Fox said.

"What's an idea?" said Harry.

"You," said Ron, "teaching us to do it."

"But... I'm not a teacher, I can't –"

"Harry, you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione.

"Me? No I'm not; you've beaten me in every test –"

"Actually, I haven't," said Hermione coolly. "You beat me in our third year – the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry. Think of what you've _done_!"

_"Crap,"_ Wolf said. _"Are we going to allow this club thing?"_

_"No idea,"_ Fox said, _"maybe. The kids _do_ need to protect themselves. And that Umbridge woman isn't teaching them anything."_

"First year – you saved the Philosopher's Stone from You-Know-Who."

"But that was luck," said Harry, "it wasn't skill –"

"Second year," Ron interrupted, "you killed the Basilisk and destroyed Riddle."

"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up, I –"

"Third year," said Ron, louder still, "you fought off about a hundred Dementors at once –"

"Yeah, but –"

"Last year," Ron said, almost shouting now, "you fought off You-Know-Who _again_ –"

"Listen to me!" said Harry, almost angrily, because Ron and Hermione were both smirking now. "Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck – I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help –"

Ron and Hermione were still smirking, and Harry felt his temper rise; he wasn't even sure why he was feeling so angry.

"Don't sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn't I?" he said heatedly. "I know what went on, all right? And I didn't get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I got through it because – because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right – but I just blundered through it all, I didn't have a clue what I was doing – STOP LAUGHING!"

Harry's book bag fell to the floor and spilled open. He became aware that he was on his feet, though he couldn't remember standing up. Crookshanks streaked away under the sofa. Ron and Hermione's smiles vanished. Fox, Stag and Wolf were not even looking in their direction, but their shoulders were stiff and they exuded an uptight aura.

"You don't know what it's like! You – neither of you – you've never had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something? The whole time you're sure you now there's nothing between you and dying except your own – your own brain or guts or whatever – like you can think straight when you know you're about a nanosecond from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die – they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that – and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up – you just don't get it, that could just have easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me…"

Silently, the Fox's respect for the boy, which was at an all time low, rose a little again. If all Harry had said were true, then it meant he knew what it like to be in battle. Harry was right; no one taught you how to face death, how to withstand torture or how to not lose your mind when one of your friends is killed right before your very eyes. When Fox was still in the Academy, he thought that being a ninja meant being strong. He thought it meant learning the most jutsu or being the toughest, but life experiences had taught him otherwise.

"Potter-san is right," said the cool, lazy voice of Stag, "you _don't_ know what it's like. Do not go assuming things for yourselves."

Hermione and Ron glanced at the guard.

_"Someone is coming down the stairs,"_ Wolf reported. _"I think Harry's shouting woke them up."_

He flashed up the stairs and found an unsuspecting Dean poking his head out sleepily. Dean didn't even have time to react before Wolf hit a pressure point on his neck, and the boy slumped forward, unconscious. Wolf picked him up easily, moved silently into the dorm and dropped him back onto his bed. He body-flickered back downstairs. Harry, Ron and Hermione were too engaged with each other to notice anything.

"Harry," said Hermione timidly, "don't you see? This… this is exactly why we need you… we need to know what it's r-really like… facing him… facing V-Voldemort."

It was the first time she had ever said Voldemort's name. This alone seemed to calm Harry down. He seemed to deflate, and he sat in his chair again.

"Think about it," said Hermione quietly. "Please?"

Harry could not think of anything to say. He was feeling ashamed of his outburst already. He nodded, hardly aware of what he was agreeing to.

"Well, I'm off to bed," said Hermione, in a voice that was clearly as natural as she could make it. "Good night."

Ron had gotten to his feet as well.

"Coming?" he said awkwardly to Harry.

"Yeah," said Harry, "in… in a minute."

Ron nodded and went up to the dorm. Harry was left alone with the guards. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

"Just go to bed, Potter-san," Fox said, not looking in his direction. "Good night."

Harry closed his mouth and forced his feet to move and he followed Ron upstairs.

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed, and not a word was said about Harry giving Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. It was the end of September. The evening was windy and blustery, the trio were found sitting in the library, and strangely enough, the whole group of guards were sitting at a table not too far away from them as well.<p>

_"Tsunade-baa-chan said that now Itachi and Deidara have gone missing from the ninja continent, as well as Kisame,"_ Fox said. _"That means they are here in the wizarding dimension."_

_"Strange how they haven't made a move yet,"_ Slug said. She ran a hand through her pink hair. _"And is there any news about them allying themselves with Voldemort?"_

_"Yeah, it's been confirmed,"_ Fox nodded. He bit his lip. _"Things are going to get dangerous."_

_"We still don't know how strong Voldemort is yet,"_ Dragon said, _"or how many minions he has."_

_"Death Eaters,"_ Dove said. _"His comrades are called Death Eaters."_

_"Minions sound cooler."_

_"I doubt he thinks of them as comrades,"_ Raccoon said flatly. _"He doesn't seem to be the type to have very many friends."_

_"Like you were when you were younger,"_ Slug teased. Raccoon gave her a half hearted push.

_"How will the Akatsuki know which one is Naruto?"_ Cat asked. _"After all, the identities of the ANBU are supposed to be a secret."_

_"They have their sources," _Dragon said darkly.

_"Alright, let's think,"_ Hawk said, _"what are the tactics the Akatsuki may use to lure Fox to them? After all, he's what they're after."_

_"They could kidnap someone as a bargaining chip,"_ Stag suggested, _"or they could just charge up to the castle and capture him."_

He yawned and mumbled a "troublesome" under his breath.

_"Don't forget, Voldemort wants Potter-san,"_ Cat said. _"He'll probably use the same tactics as the Akatsuki."_

_"Zetsu can also pretend to be someone we know (1),"_ Stag said. _"He did that a few times in the Fourth Shinobi World War. We lost a good number of troops because of his ability."_

_"Hey, what about taijutsu class?"_ Dove asked suddenly. _"It's on this Saturday, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah," _Wolf said, _"gotta get ready for that as well."_

* * *

><p>"What do you think they'll teach us?" Ron asked. He sounded excited. "I mean, we haven't actually seen them fight before, have we? And they're supposed to be ninja. And ninja are supposed to be dangerous."<p>

Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall on Saturday morning, and found a crowd of students milling around.

"Are all these people here for the class?" Hermione asked, impressed. "It's quite a lot."

"No Slytherins, though," Harry said. "Good."

"Alright, everyone!" called a commanding voice. It belonged to Dragon. "Follow us, please."

Dragon appeared, and she casually walked up the walls, making many people gasp.

"Is she… walking up the wall?" Ron whispered, "Bloody awesome!"

Eagerly, the mass of people followed Dragon outside. She led them towards the lake, and then told them to sit down. There were about fifty or sixty of them. Harry sat down in the grass and wondered what the guards had in store for them. Gathered in front of them were all of the shinobi. They stared at the chattering students silently, though Fox flickered around and asked muttered questions to his comrades every once in a while.

"Be quiet," Raccoon said. His cold voice silenced everyone, and they all turned their attention to the front.

"Good morning everyone, glad you could make it," said Slug. "Now, I'm sure you know that the whole point of this class is to learn taijutsu, or in other words, self defence."

"You mean you'll teach us how to fight like samurais and stuff?" asked a boy eagerly.

"Somewhat," Fox said. "But first, you have to build up your strength."

"Taijutsu is physical," Hawk said coolly. "Right now, none of you have the stamina to do much. Therefore, before we start anything serious, you have to work on that."

"Now, give us five laps around the lake," Cat said. She had a smile in her voice.

The Hogwarts students stared at one another, not sure whether or not the shinobi were being serious. It was a little sudden… they were expecting lectures or demonstrations.

"Um, do you know how big the lake is?" a girl asked.

"Obviously," Dove said. "It's right there." She jerked her blonde head towards the shining water. "Now get moving."

Slowly, the kids got to their feet and started running; a large, moving block of black.

"They should have changed out of their school uniform," Fox murmured. "Ah well."

The students managed quite well for the first half of the lap, but by the time they finished their first one, many had fallen behind. It seemed the fittest ones were the Quidditch players, though their faces were red and sweaty as well.

"They… really are unfit," Hawk groaned. "How are we supposed to teach them anything?"

By the time the five laps were finished, the students looked like they were about to die.

"Too slow," Fox said. "When we say five laps, we expect you to finish it in five minutes. It took you twenty. Too long, much too long."

"Well, why don't you try and run around the lake five times," a fifth year boy grumbled. "It's not as easy as it looks, you know. Five minutes? That's way too short."

"We can do it in one minute or less," Cat said. "Stag, want to demonstrate?"

Stag complained, but did so anyway. He flashed around the lake five times, so fast he was blurred. Harry felt his mouth open in shock. Crap…

"Thanks for that, Stag," Dragon said. "Now, I want all of you to do at least fifty push ups."

Eyes widened, and for a few minutes there were large mutterings of "I can't even do _one_ push up…", but they all complied.

Fox's lips twitched as groans and grunts filled the air as the students struggled to push themselves off the ground. He dragged a hand down his mask.

"They really do suck," Fox whispered. "At this rate, we'll be going forever."

"Excuse me," a first year girl said. Fox glanced at her.

"Yes?"

"I have a question."

"Go for it."

"As ninja, do you only fight by using… tai-taijuti?"

"Taijutsu," Fox corrected her. "And no, we have various techniques."

"Can we see them?"

"Sure," Fox said.

The conversation had gotten the interest of the surrounding students, and now the whole crowd had their eyes on Fox.

"Hmm…" Fox wondered which technique to show them, then, _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

A perfect copy of Fox appeared, and excited mutterings sprang between the people.

"Do you have any offensive techniques?" asked a boy.

_"Rasengan!"_

The familiar blue ball of spinning energy. Fox smashed it into the ground, making a small crater.

"Sorry," said Fox. "I held back."

"Wow," whispered Hermione. "I wonder how they do it; they're not using wands or anything."

"Beats me," muttered Harry. In truth, he was also very impressed.

"Enough gawking, get on with those push ups," Hawk said.

Halfway through the session, Umbridge appeared, looking with distaste at all the sweaty and exhausted students, but with a few cold words from Fox, she left rather quickly.

The guards walked among the students as they did their push ups, correcting their poses and giving quiet critics. The ones who did well were the ones that they passed without comment.

Harry knew he was doing badly; he could only lift himself up for one push up, but to his surprise Raccoon helped him out quite a bit. He was prepared for sneering and name calling, but then again, not everyone was like Malfoy.

Harry checked the time, two o'clock. During the times between ten and two, the guards had made them do laps, push ups, high kicks, jumps, lifting your arms up and down again and various moves that inflexible people couldn't do (that was most of them) and finally they ended it with learning how to punch. By the end of the session, Harry felt as though he had been exercising for an entire week. The shinobi insisted though that all this would help them with future training.

The funniest thing was, over the next few days, the students who went to self defence class on Saturday were seen hobbling around, clutching their backs or their stomachs or wincing when they sat down. It seemed that the intense muscle pain had set in.

* * *

><p>The first weekend of October meant the first Hogsmeade trip for the year. Hermione had told Harry that a group of students would be meeting in the Hog's Head to join in the Defence Against the Dark Arts club that Harry was teaching.<p>

The trio, accompanied by Slug and Raccoon, set off to Hogsmeade. Cat and Fox would explore the streets for anything interesting or suspicious, while Slug and Raccoon would be tailing Harry. The rest of the shinobi stayed to guard Hogwarts.

Fox and Cat bade good bye to the other two and veered left to check out the Hogsmeade streets. Raccoon and Slug followed the trio into the Hog's Head.

They walked down the main street past Zonko's Wizarding Joke Shop, where they were not surprised to see Fred, George and Lee Jordan, past the post office, from which owls issued at regular intervals, and turned up a side-street at the top of which stood a small inn. A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture on it of a wild boar's severed head, leaking blood onto the white cloth around it.

The three of them glanced back at Slug and Raccoon, but to their surprise found that the two had disappeared. They hesitated at the door, but then Hermione pushed it open and they entered.

The Hog's Head comprise of one small, dingy and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats. The bay windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead with the stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables. The floor seemed at first glance to be compressed earth, though as Harry stepped on it he realised that there was stone beneath what seemed to be the accumulated filth of centuries.

There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty grey bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows, and in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with a thick black veil that fell to her toes. There was also a man who wore nothing but black, and a long nose pointed out from underneath the hood.

The barman sidled towards them out of a black room. He was a grumpy looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry.

"So, who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked, as the trio moved to a table.

"Just a couple of people," Hermione said, checking her watch. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is – oh, look, this might be them now."

The door of the pub had opened. A thick band of dusty sunlight split the room in two for a moment and then vanished, blocked by the incoming rush of people.

First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho and one of her usually-giggly girlfriends, then Luna Lovegood, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know; three Ravenclaw boys he was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, Ginny, closely followed by a tall, skinny blonde boy with an upturned nose whom Harry vaguely recognised as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and, bringing up the rear, Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan.

_"Oh my,"_ Sakura whispered. She was the witch covered in the thick black veil, and Gaara was the man whose head was wrapped in dirty bandages.

Gaara watched under heavily-lidded eyes as Hermione spoke up first, her voice high-pitched, and then a girl asking Harry whether or not he could do a corporeal Patronus. He saw Sakura shift slightly in her seat. Hermione then moved onto asking the group whether or not they wanted to take lessons from Harry. There was a general murmur of agreement. Hermione then asked everyone to sign a piece of paper. After signing, people left in twos and threes.

* * *

><p>"How many people were there?" Fox asked. Slug cringed.<p>

"Quite a lot," she sighed, "from all houses apart from Slytherin."

They were in Gryffindor tower, and Slug had come to deliver her report.

"Here, Dumbledore-san gave us this," Fox said. He gave her two radio transmitters that were to be strapped around the neck.

"Does it work?" Slug asked. "I thought Dumbledore-san said there was too much magic in the air for electrical appliances to work…"

"He cast a charm on it," Fox said. "It'll work anywhere, even underwater."

"Great," Slug said. "Is this one for Raccoon?"

"Yes," Fox said. "Make sure you give it to him."

"I will. Is this all?"

"Yes. You may take your leave."

"Arigato, captain."

* * *

><p>"How's Michiko?" Fox asked. Stag glanced at his captain and a small smile curved at his lips. The pair of them were in the Gryffindor common room, lazing about by the fire and watching the students study.<p>

"Temari sent me a letter last night," Stag said. "She said she's fine."

"Healthy?" Fox asked.

"Yeah," Stag nodded.

"That's good," Fox said. "Though it's a shame you had to go on this mission."

"Ah well, we need the money," Stag said, though he was still regretful he couldn't stay home with his wife and newborn daughter.

"Who's Michiko?" Harry couldn't help asking. He was just passing by, and had picked up on the conversation. Fox looked at the scarred boy.

"My daughter," Stag said. He watched as shock flitted across Harry's face.

"Oh," was all the boy could say. "How old is she?"

"Two months," Stag said. As Harry moved away, Stag sighed and mumbled a "troublesome" under his breath.

* * *

><p><strong>One of the pairings has been revealed: Shikamaru and Temari. <strong>

**Info:**

**Shikamaru and Temari are married.**

**They currently have a two month old daughter named Michiko.**

**Michiko = beautiful wise child**

**(1) White Zetsu can turn into a perfect copy of someone, including their chakra and appearance.**

**[This section has been edited. Originally, the daughter was named 'Ayame']**


	7. The First DA Meeting

**Hmm, has anyone here watched/read the anime/manga 'Fairy Tail'? I just finished the anime, and I gotta say, it has made it into my top three favourites list! It's really good; you guys should check it out! :D**

***** Sorry about this late news, but Orochimaru will also be in this story as well. I guess he will be working with the Akatsuki. **

**Also, someone asked me a while back why I put 'Dragon' as Tenten's code name and not 'Panda' like so many other authors have. Guess I named her Dragon because I just wanted that to be different to other stories XD Also, I'm pretty sure Tenten has an attack called something with the word 'Dragon' in it...**

**Okay, I just looked it up, and it turns out it was an 'anime only' attack. Ah well.**

**My reviewers: BookWormForLife, ThePurpleSuperCow, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, WinxPossible, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Hanzo of the Salamander, Spider's Thread, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, MadnessLover, Rinfan595**

**Chapter Seven: The First DA Meeting**

* * *

><p><em>BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS<em>

_All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded._

_An organisation, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students._

_Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)._

_No student organisation, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor._

_Any students found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation, society, team, group or club _

_that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with the Educational Decree_

_Number Twenty-four._

_Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

As the trio trudged down the stone steps for Potions, all three of them lost in thought, they heard the voice of Draco Malfoy, who was standing just outside Snape's classroom door, waving around an official-looking piece of parchment and talking much louder than was necessary so that they could hear every word.

"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straight away; I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry… it'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"

Hawk arrived and observed the obvious tension between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. Trust Malfoy to stir things up. He realised he hadn't really met the blonde boy yet, and once he saw Malfoy, it was an immediate 'hate at first sight'.

"I mean," said Malfoy, raising his voice a little more, his grey eyes glittering malevolently in Harry and Ron's direction, "if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance… from what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years… and as for Potter carted off to St Mungo's… apparently they've got a special ward for people's whose brains have been addled by magic."

Malfoy made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling.

Something collided hard with Harry's shoulder, knocking him sideways. A split second later he realised that Neville had just charged past him, heading straight for Malfoy.

"Neville, _no_!"

Before Harry could react, Hawk had flashed in, and he hit a pressure point in Neville's neck, causing the boy to slump forward. Hawk hoisted the boy up over his shoulder, and turned his cold, pearly eyes towards Malfoy.

"You," Hawk said slowly, his voice steely. "If you do not learn to stop provoking other people, I will personally make sure that you do. Now shut your mouth and get inside, brat."

Hawk pointed a gloved finger to the door, in which Snape had just opened. Snape apparently did not find anything to take points from, seeing that Hawk had it all under control, and so with an unpleasant leer, he allowed the students into the classroom. Hawk dumped Neville into a seat, and said that the boy would wake up soon.

* * *

><p>"Umbridge is watching the fireplaces and reading the mail," Wolf reported. "When Black-san was meeting Potter-san, Weasley-san and Granger-san in the fireplace using Floo powder, it seems as though Umbridge knew where he was and tried to catch him."<p>

"Did he get caught?" Fox asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No."

There was Quidditch practice that evening, as Angelina had gotten permission from Dumbledore to re-from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The weather, though, was not cooperating, and that evening there was a full-on storm. It was an hour before Angelina let her team back inside, conceding defeat.

"OUCH!" said Harry. He had just been drying himself, but now he pressed the towel to his face, his eyes screwed tight with pain. The scar on his forehead had seared again, more painfully than it had in weeks.

Cat, though it seemed rather awkward, stood stiff and silent in the changing room. Her eyes had flickered over to Harry when his scar hurt, but otherwise said nothing.

When the rest the team left, Harry and Ron were the only ones in the changing room. Cat stepped up silently behind Harry.

"Was it your scar?" she murmured. Harry jumped and glanced behind him.

"Um… yeah," he said. He knew it would not work if he lied to her.

"What happened?" she asked. Ron looked at Harry, his face white.

"He's angry," Harry muttered. "I felt… anger. He wants something done, and it's not happening fast enough."

"But how did you know?" said Ron.

Harry shook his head and covered his eyes with his hands.

"Is this what it was about last time?" said Ron in a hushed voice. "When your scar hurt in Umbridge's office? You-Know-Who was angry?"

Harry shook his head.

"Last time, it was because he was pleased," he said, "really pleased. He thought… something good was going to happen."

Cat was looking at him strangely. She definitely needed to report this to Fox. Quietly, she moved aside and let the two boys talk. She pressed the button on her radio.

_"Fox? It's Cat,"_ she said. _"I have a report."_

_"Continue,"_ Fox said. His voice sounded static-y.

_"Potter-san's scar hurt just now. It seems as though he can sense Voldemort's emotions,"_ Cat said. She hoped her captain would understand that. He did.

_"Right,"_ Fox said. _"That's a new development. Is that all?"_

_"Hai."_

_"Thanks. Fox, over."_

_"Cat, over."_

* * *

><p>Dobby had visited Harry during the night, and had told him where to find the Room of Requirement. Excited, Harry passed the message on to the various students that had gathered in the Hog's Head a few weekends ago.<p>

With a jolt, Harry realised that he wasn't sure whether or not the guards knew about his rebellious little plan. He remembered that Stag, Fox and Wolf had been present when the trio had discussed the meeting, but that didn't confirm anything. Well, it confirmed a lot, but still…

In Herbology, Fox was watching over Harry. Though the boy didn't want to do it, he motioned for the guard to come over to him.

"What is it, _gaki_?" Fox asked. Harry felt a little intimidated by his presence, but ploughed on.

"Um, you know that we're… having a… Defence Against the Dark Arts meeting tonight… right?" Harry said tentatively. Professor Sprout was talking to some other students, and didn't notice the chatter.

"Of course we do," Fox said coolly. "Not many things around here get past us."

Harry waited. Fox sighed softly.

"Well, I don't really recommend it," Fox said. "But it doesn't put your life in danger, so I can't say anything against it."

Relief washed through Harry, and he gave the guard a quick and faint smile. Though Fox said nothing in return, Harry swore that the cerulean blue eyes peering through the holes in the mask became slightly warmer.

At half past seven that night, Harry, Ron and Hermione all left the Gryffindor common room, Harry clutching a certain piece of aged parchment in his hand. Harry knew the shinobi were there, and so he walked without fear of getting caught.

"Hold it," Harry warned, unfolding the piece of parchment at the top of the last staircase on the seventh floor, tapping it with his wand and muttering, "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_

Slug, who was shadowing the trio along with Fox, smiled slightly at the choice of words.

A map of Hogwarts appeared on the blank surface of the parchment. Tiny black moving dots, labelled with names, showed where various people were.

"Filch is on the second floor," said Harry, holding the map close to his eyes, "and Mrs Norris is on the fourth."

"And Umbridge?" said Hermione anxiously.

"In her office," said Harry, pointing. "Okay, let's go."

They hurried along the corridor to the place where Dobby had descried to Harry, a stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet.

"Okay," said Harry quietly, while a moth-eaten troll paused in his relentless clubbing of the would-be ballet teacher to watch them. "Dobby said to walk past this bit of wall three times, concentrating hard on what we need."

Slug watched with interest as they walked past the bit of wall, looks of intense focus on their faces. She watched as a highly polished door appeared on the wall. Ron was staring at it, looking slightly wary. They all entered, eyes widening at what they saw inside.

The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors and a large, cracked Foe-Glass.

Fox turned on his radio, and contacted everyone.

_"This is Fox. Calling all shinobi,"_ he said. Seven crackly _"Hai's" _were heard. _"The Room of Requirement has been found."_He then proceeded to explain the instructions to everyone, and they all confirmed that they understood. _"Fox, out."_

Slowly, all the students who were at the Hog's Head appeared. They were impressed with the place Harry had found. After about fifteen minutes, Harry confirmed that everyone was here.

"Well," said Harry, as he stared at the assembled group of people. "I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and – er –" He noticed a raised hand. "What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," said Hermione.

"Harry's leader," said Cho, looking at Hermione as if she was crazy.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," said Hermione, unperturbed. "It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So – everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"

Everyone put their hand up, including Zacharias Smith, though he did it rather grudgingly.

"Er – right, thanks," said Harry, who could feel his face burning. "And – _what_, Hermione?"

"I also think we should have a name," she said brightly. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina hopefully.

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.

"I was thinking," said Hermione, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings?"

"The Defence Association?" said Cho. "The DA for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"

"Yeah, DA's good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?"

There was a good deal of laughing and appreciative murmuring at this.

"All in favour of DA?" said Hermione bossily. "That's a majority – motion passed!"

She pinned the piece of parchment with all of their signatures on it onto the wall and wrote across the top in large letters:

DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

As the group divided into pairs to practise the _Expelliarmus _Charm, Fox quietly repeated everything that had happened to the other shinobi via his radio. Slug walked around and calmly dodged rogue spells that ricocheted around the room.

Harry walked around trying to correct people, and after a long time, the general performance of the group improved.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione called from the other end of the room, "have you checked the time?" He looked down at his watch and was shocked to see it was already eight thirty, which meant they needed to get back to their common rooms immediately or risk being caught and punished by Filch for being out of bounds. He blew his whistle; everybody stopped shouting _"Expelliarmus" _and the last couple of wands clattered to the floor.

"Well, that was pretty good," said Harry, "but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"

"Sooner!" said Dean Thomas eagerly and many people nodded in agreement.

Angelina, however, said quickly, "The Quidditch season's about to start, we need team practices too!"

"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," said Harry, "we can decide on additional meetings then. Come on, we'd better get going." He let the group leave in twos and threes, and finally, it was just the five of them.

"That was really, really good, Harry," said Hermione.

"Yeah, it was!" said Ron enthusiastically, as they slipped out of the door and watched it melt back into stone behind them. "Did you see me disarm Hermione, Harry?"

"Only once," said Hermione, stung. "I got you loads more than you got me-"

Fox bade goodnight to Slug and entered the Gryffindor common room after the trio, and Slug went back to the Ravenclaws.

* * *

><p>Dragon and Cat were scouting the Forbidden Forest, checking for dangers and whatnot. The weapons mistress kept a sharp eye on every moving thing, be it an ant or a wolf. It was about noon, though it was as dark as night.<p>

"Dragon…" Cat said, frowning. She was peering ahead of her in the gloom. The two kunoichi were very deep into the Forest, and they had reached the part where even the sunlight could not make its way through the thick canopy. The two of them, even with their trained senses, could only see the dim outline of their hand when they held it up to their face.

"What is it?" Dragon asked. It was oddly silent, and Dragon started to wonder how big the Forest really was. She and Cat ghosted quietly over the dry leaves on the ground, eyes flickering upwards when something rustled above. Nothing moved, and the air seemed to be pressing to their skin like fog.

"Half human and half horse," Cat reported. She squinted, trying to see through the darkness. "They appear to have sensed us, and they're coming this way. They don't look happy."

"Centaurs," Dragon said. "Dumbledore-san told me about them. We shouldn't try to assert our authority; they will not listen, because according to them, they are not bound by any human laws."

Their ears pricked as they heard the sound of crunching leaves, which steadily grew louder. Dragon felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she felt a burning gaze at her back.

"Humans," a deep, baritone voice hissed. "What are humans doing so deep in the Forest?"

"Are they humans?" another voice asked. "They do not look like any humans we have ever seen."

"They have the faces of a cat and an unknown creature."

"Perhaps it is that of a dragon, the dragon that resides in the east."

"Certainly not those of the west."

"Humans!" a voice said forcefully. A centaur stepped out of the covers of the trees and confronted the two guards with acidic eyes. He was a huge palomino with a grey, swishing tail which was joined to the torso of a man.

Dragon and Cat kept their movements to a minimal and looked directly into the centaur's eyes, though they knew that some animals considered it as a challenge. But these centaurs were not mere animals, and so the kunoichi deemed that it was alright to do so.

"What are you doing in our Forest?" the centaur asked.

"We were scouting around," Dragon answered carefully, "to see if there was anything dangerous in here."

"Scouting, you say?" the centaur asked dolefully. His fellows shifted uneasily, tossing their heads and barring their teeth, "in the Forest?"

"Yes," Cat said.

"Dumbledore has told us of them," another centaur said. "He had hired some type of guards for that school of his. Could they be part of that team?"

"It would appear so," said the grey-tailed centaur. He eyed them sourly, analysing them with a gaze full of bitterness and anger. "But by our laws, any human that passes through our territory must die."

"Are you sure they're not foals, Ronan?" asked a bearded centaur. Ronan frowned and peered at them closely.

"Remove those masks of yours," Ronan commanded. Dragon and Cat glanced at each other.

"We can't," Dragon said. "You are not our leader. We will not do as you say."

The other centaurs snorted in anger, shaking their fists at them.

"Just kill them now!" shouted one of them.

"I fear that if you wish to harm us, then we will have to retaliate by fighting back," Cat said. "This is a warning."

"Ha! The human girl is warning us!" jeered a centaur.

"They must be mocking us!"

"Kill them!"

The one called Ronan sighed woefully and said, "Very well, very well."

The mass of centaurs surged forward, intent on trampling them to death. Others drew their bows and arrows, pointing the tips at the kunoichi. Dragon caught Cat's eyes and gave her a tiny nod.

_Let's do this,_ Dragon thought, grinning. She had not used her beloved weapons for a while, and they were starting to feel neglected.

It was over in a few seconds, though in the few seconds the two guards managed to receive a few injuries. They did not seriously hurt any of the centaurs; only injured them enough to scare them away. Dragon had released a few weapons from her scroll, and Cat had Gentle Fisted some of them. The Gentle Fist did not really work against the centaurs, as they had no chakra, but it succeeded in winding a few of them for a couple of minutes.

"Let's go," Cat murmured. Dragon nodded, giving the centaurs one last glance before darting away. They left a few of the half human half horses on the ground, clutching their bleeding wounds, and the others then proceeded to chase down the guards.

"They don't give up easily, do they?" Dragon muttered. Cat switched on her Byakugan and titled her head slightly so she could shift her blind spot.

"Still coming at us," Cat said, "how annoying."

"Much too proud," Dragon sighed. "Anyway, I see the castle. I don't think the centaurs will come out into the open."

Dragon and Cat ran out into the glaring sunshine and looked behind them. Sure enough, they could see the centaurs' eyes gleaming from behind the trees, but they came out no further. The centaurs gave the guards dirty looks of disgust before retreating back into the deeper shadows once again. Dragon heaved a sigh of relief.

"Report time," she said coolly. Cat nodded.

"Report time," she agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Originally, I wasn't planning on having the Forest scene, but then I realised that if I didn't then the chapter would be too short. I wasn't sure how to portray the centaurs loathing towards the humans. I do know that in HP there is a centaur called Ronan who is quite "doleful", so I just added him in there as well. <strong>

**Also, I told someone who reviewed the last chapter that the shinobi would probably remove their masks in either chapters ten, eleven or twelve. I lied. I'm sorry. I actually don't know when, because I put in another little… problem, elongating the unmasking process…**

**Please review, my reviewers have been steadily dropping. Actually no, it's been fluctuating T^T**


	8. Mayhem at the Quidditch Pitch

**Urgh. I just found out that along with all my other pieces of assessment, exams, assignment and whatnot, I also have another Music exam and a Maths assignment! *dies***

**I think my brain has over-heated. I did so much study this past week T^T but I got a little bit of time to write before tackling another set of Maths problems, practice speaking French and memorising History terms about the Whitlam Government (Australia) and the dismissal of 11th November 1975… **

**My reviewers: xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, Jupiter 567, Furionknight, ThePurpleSuperCow, Hanzo of the Salamander, ShadowsBloodPain, tenshi-no-akuma-81, SiriusBalisticPretzels, MostAwkwardRAWR, WinxPossible, wunsleh, BookWormForLife, Rinfan595 and Slave to my Pen**

**And I also gotta thank SharpShooterRizaHawkeye** **for the review all the way back in Chapter Two. You were the only one who actually said anything about the Gaara thing (I guess other people forgot). Coz, if you remember, people weren't really comfortable with Gaara in the story coz he's supposed to be Kazekage and all that. Sorry this thanking took so long, I kept on forgetting.**

**Chapter Eight: Mayhem at the Quidditch Pitch**

* * *

><p>Hermione, being the intelligent witch that she was, had soon devised a clever way of communicating the time and date of the next DA meeting to all the members in case they needed to change it at short notice, because it would look suspicious if people from different Houses were seen crossing the Great Hall to talk to each other too often.<p>

She gave each of the members a fake Galleon, and explained what would happen to them if Harry changed the meeting dates.

As everyone surged forward to get one, Harry drew Hermione off to the side.

"You know what these remind me of?" Harry asked.

"No, what's that?"

"The Death Eaters' scars. Voldemort touches one of them, and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him."

"Well... yes," said Hermione quietly. "That _is _where I got the idea... but you'll notice I decided to engrave the date on bits of metal rather than on our members' skin."

"Yeah... I prefer your way," said Harry, grinning. He gave the two guards, Hawk and Dragon, a fleeting look, then suddenly noticed a strange, black, swirly tattoo on the two shinobi's shoulders.

"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing to the tattoos. Dragon glanced at Hawk, who gave her a tiny nod.

"The ANBU insignia," Dragon said. Though her voice was blank, Harry could hear the hint of pride in her voice. "When you become a member of ANBU, you get a tattoo like this on your shoulder. The tattoo is on the left shoulder for the males and on the right shoulder for the females."

"What does ANBU mean?" Hermione asked. Her eyes were sparkling with the fact that she could expand her knowledge of the ninja world. Dragon hesitated.

"Special Assassination and Tactical Squad," Hawk said smoothly.

"Oh..."

* * *

><p>October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy draughts that bit at exposed hands and faces. The Quidditch match was drawing nearer and nearer. The ninja had been at Hogwarts for about three months now.<p>

On the morning of the match, it dawned bright and cold. Wolf stretched from his place on an armchair, and sleepily stroked Akamaru's head. The huge white dog whined and padded over to sleep by the dying fire.

At breakfast that morning, Wolf entered the Great Hall and saw, to none of his concern, Harry and Ron, with the latter looking a repulsive shade of green.

"Um, is Weasley-san alright?" asked a voice by his side. He turned and saw Dove, and the blonde was looking anxiously over to the redhead.

"No idea," Wolf shrugged. "He looks kinda sick..."

"Just nerves," Stag drawled, having just entered as well.

"Why have the Slytherins got 'Weasley is our King' etched onto badges?" Cat whispered. The Hyuuga girl was staring at the silver crowns the Slytherins had pinned to their front.

"They have lyrics to go along with it," Raccoon answered, getting up from the Hufflepuff table and joining them. "Hawk and I heard them making it up in the Slytherin common room. It was quite annoying."

"Lowering his self-esteem?" Cat said. Raccoon confirmed it. "That's an unpleasant but very good tactic."

As the time of the game drew nearer, the guards decided to go to the Quidditch pitch, as did the rest of the Gryffindor team. Wolf stayed in the changing rooms, and he could clearly hear hundreds of footsteps mounting the banked benches of the spectators' stands. Some people were singing, but Wolf did not bother to make out the words. Beside him, Akamaru was alert as well, as only a nin dog could.

"It's time," said Angelina in a hushed voice, looking at her watch, "C'mon everyone... good luck."

The team rose, shouldered their brooms and marched in a single file out of the changing room and into the dazzling sunlight. Wolf thought they were far too serious about something as simple as a game. After all, it was only a few balls flying in the air, right?

Wolf positioned himself at one end of the pitch, and he saw Cat, Dragon and Raccoon stationed on other areas of the pitch as well. The rest of the guards were either at the castle guarding it or in the spectators' stands.

As the captains shook hands, Wolf could see that Montague was trying to crush Angelina's fingers, though she did not make a sound. His respect for her moved up a notch.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch ordered. She placed her whistle to her mouth and blew.

The balls were released and the fourteen players shot upwards.

Wolf paced the pitch, not paying attention to the game. He heard loud groans from the crowd as Ron missed ball after ball after ball. He tried not to pull his hair out when he heard the irritating lyrics that the Slytherins had thought up. Finally, though, after about twenty minutes, there was a great roar of sound from the Gryffindor end, signalling that Harry had caught the Snitch.

Wolf's eyes flickered upwards as he saw Harry fall through the air, but he didn't move, knowing that Raccoon would catch him with his sand. He was not disappointed, and Harry was lowered to the ground, nodded his thanks to Raccoon, and was immediately surrounded by his cheering team.

Malfoy landed not too far away from Wolf, his grey eyes filled with hate and bitterness at the loss.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" he said to Harry. "I've never seen a worse Keeper... but then he was _born in a bin_... did you like my lyrics, Potter?"

Wolf saw that Harry did not allow the words to affect him, which Wolf approved of.

"We wanted to write another couple of verses," Malfoy called, as Katie and Alicia hugged Harry. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly – we wanted to sing about his mother, see –"

"Talk about sour grapes," said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look. Wolf frowned, not liking the fact that Malfoy had the nerve to insult someone's family. Family was important and not something to mock whenever one felt like it.

"- We couldn't fit in _useless loser_ either – for his father, you know –"

Fred and George had realised what Malfoy was talking about. Halfway through shaking Harry's hand, they stiffened, looking round at Malfoy. Cat, Dragon and Raccoon flitted towards the commotion, seeing the tension between the twins and Malfoy.

Malfoy continued to say things about the Weasley family, and finally, after insulting Harry's mother, Harry, Fred and George all lost control and sprinted towards Malfoy, intent on pounding the blonde into oblivion.

In a flash, the three boys were in headlocks performed by Cat, Wolf and Raccoon. Dragon strode over to Malfoy and grabbed the Slytherin boy by the front of his robes.

Harry plunged his hand into his pocket and drew out his wand. He pointed it at Malfoy, and yelled out a croaked, "_Reducto!_" Cat grabbed at his wand, but the spell had already been shot. Fortunately, Dragon had sensed the spell coming and had pushed Malfoy off to the side. No one was hit.

"You," Dragon said without a hint of emotion in her voice. It somehow made her sound scarier. She pointed a gloved finger at Malfoy, who stood up shakily. "Never ever bring up a dead person like that again."

Dragon left a shell-shocked Malfoy frozen to the ground after making sure that he felt her killer intent.

Once Wolf was sure George wasn't going to pummel Malfoy into bloody little pieces, he cautiously let go. The boy started to charge at Malfoy again, but before Wolf could catch him, Madam Hooch intervened.

After getting scolded by Madam Hooch, Harry and the twins were sent to Professor McGonagall's office, all of them fuming and shaking with anger.

Fox and Wolf followed the three, both of them emitting an aura of quiet annoyance.

McGonagall had shouted at them, before Umbridge interrupted, claiming that she had the power to give any student any punishment she desired. Unfortunately, it was true.

Harry, Fred and George were given a lifelong Quidditch ban.

* * *

><p>In the common room, it did not feel as though Gryffindor had won the match at all. Everywhere there were disconsolate and angry faces; the team themselves were slumped around the fire, all apart from Ron, who had not been seen since the end of the match.<p>

No one talked much, and even the ninja seemed to maintain an uneasy silence, though they were tense about other things.

_"Zetsu has been sighted in Hogsmeade,"_ Fox murmured. _"Crap… what are we going to do?"_

_"Not lose our cool, that's the first thing,"_ Stag said. _"Where was he sighted?"_

_"Near the Shrieking Shack,"_ Wolf said. _"That's pretty close to the school."_

_"We can't let him get any nearer," _Fox said. _"He's too dangerous, and there are too many kids in the way here."_

_"Sasori and Madara are still in the ninja dimension, correct?"_ Stag said. Fox nodded.

_"Yeah, Tsunade-baa-chan said she's tracking their movements,"_ Wolf said.

_"But we still have to worry about Kisame, Itachi, Deidara and Zetsu,"_ Fox said.

_"Yeah."_

* * *

><p>Hagrid retuned that night, and the trio had sprinted down to see him, followed by a disapproving Fox.<p>

"This is the only time I'll make an exception," Fox had told them. "Next time, when it is past curfew, you stay in the Gryffindor common room."

Hagrid had been very interested to meet the ninja, as he had heard a lot about them. There was an odd look in his eye as he talked about his next lesson. Hermione had tried to persuade him to not show them any dangerous animals, though Hagrid's definition of 'dangerous' and Hermione's were very far apart.

During self defence class that week, the ninja had commented that they were impressed by the way the Hogwarts students had improved their general fitness level. They had learned how to punch, and were now being taught how to block.

"Stay balanced," Hawk told them. "Loosen yourself (1)."

They were in pairs again, and this time they had to be partnered with someone from a different House. Harry ended up with Ernie Macmillan, though Harry did not exactly feel like punching the pompous Hufflepuff boy.

"Potter-san, just hit him," Stag called out lazily. He stopped to observe the progress the pair was making. "You can't hesitate when you're facing an enemy, or they'll kill you first."

Harry gritted his teeth, scrunched up his fist and aimed straight for Ernie's face. He winced when it connected.

"Go to Slug or Dove and get clean up," Stag told Ernie, who had clapped his hand over his face. Blood leaked out, and Harry was sure he had given Ernie a broken nose. Stag turned to Harry.

"At least you know how to punch," Stag said dryly. He moved off to inspect Hermione and Hannah Abbott. Ron grinned at him, mimicking the punch Harry had just made at Justin Finch-Fletchley.

* * *

><p>As Harry, Ron and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's cabin on Tuesday, followed by Cat, they discussed in worried tones about what Hagrid might have in store for them. They were also concerned about how Malfoy and the rest of his cronies would behave if Umbridge was watching them, as she had told them that she would be inspecting Hagrid's class that day.<p>

However, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the Forest. He did not present a reassuring sight; there was a half dead cow carried on his massive shoulders.

"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark tress behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark."

"What prefers the dark?" Cat heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did you say prefers the dark – did you hear?"

Cat had a tiny prickling of unease in the back of her mind, and she scanned the trees of the Forbidden Forest with careful eyes.

"Ready?" said Hagrid cheerfully, looking around at the class. "Right, well, I've bin saving' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go in an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studying today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em."

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" said Malfoy, the panic in his voice even more pronounced. Before he could say anything stupid, Cat had flickered behind him and given the back of his head a sharp rap. The Gryffindors snickered, and Hagrid flashed the blue-haired girl a warm smile. She stared blankly back, but inclined her head very slightly.

Hagrid turned and strode into the Forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow, until Harry took the lead.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow at all on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid deposited his half dead cow on the ground, stepped back and turned to face his class, most of whom were creeping from tree to tree towards him, peering around nervously.

"Gather roun', gather roun'," Hagrid encouraged. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' meat, but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me."

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face and gave an off, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird.

Cat, though she didn't show it, was spooked. It reminded her forcefully of a certain forest back in Konoha. When she had taken her the first Chunin Exam with Kiba and Shino in the Forest of Death, there were the same creepy cries and yowls from various monsters/animals. Though she was now an ANBU, those memories still gave her the chills, having frightened her back when she was a timid little genin who stuttered.

Cat noticed a pair of blank, white, shining eyes that were growing larger through the gloom, and a moment later the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

Cat had instructively grabbed the hilt of a kunai, but she restrained herself from throwing it. Evidently, it was part of the lesson, because Hagrid had also seen them, and he did not look worried.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly, as a second black winged horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body and dipped its head to gorge the meat. "Now… put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

Harry raised his hand, as did a Slytherin boy and Neville. Hagrid glanced at Cat.

"I guess you can see 'em too," Hagrid said. Cat nodded. "Yeah, being ninja an' all."

"Excuse me," said Malfoy in a sneering voice, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For an answer, Hagrid pointed to the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, the several people gasped and Parvati squealed. After all, bit of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

"Thestrals," Hagrid said proudly. "Hogwarts as got a whole herd of 'em here. Now, who knows –?"

"But they're really, really unlucky," interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed.

"No, no, no," said Hagrid, chuckling, "tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful. Now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?"

Hermione raised her hand.

"The only people who can see Thestrals," she said, "are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly.

_People who have seen death,_ Cat thought. _Then who has Hagrid-san see die?_

Cat detected a presence behind her, and she whipped around, peering into the gloom carefully. A short, stout person was crunching through the Forest, making a hell of a lot of noise. Cat finally confirmed that the person was Umbridge.

Wonderful.

"Hem, hem."

There came the irritating and damn annoying cough. Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few metres away from Cat, though she shifted slightly when she saw the guard. She was wearing a green hat and cloak, her clipboard at the ready.

_Oh no…_ Cat thought. _She's going to ruin Hagrid's confidence._

Cat had taken a great liking to the giant teacher, and she spent the rest of the lesson trying to restrain herself from stabbing Umbridge in the back as the toad-like teacher criticized everything that Hagrid did.

* * *

><p>December arrived, bringing with it more snow. Along with the snow, it meant more work for the ninja because all the Hogwarts students seemed to be in a holiday spirit and they were prone to misbehave. Also adding to the stress list was the fact that the Akatsuki <em>still<em> hadn't made a move yet.

"I don't understand," Fox said in a frustrated whisper. "Are they trying to make us die of anxiety?"

"Maybe that's their plan," Raccoon muttered. "That, or make Fox annoy us to death _because_ of the anxiety." Fox gave him a half hearted punch.

"Fox, Dumbledore-san knows about the Akatsuki, right?" Slug asked.

"Of course," Fox said.

"Does he know why?" Raccoon asked quietly. Fox opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"No," Fox mumbled. "He asked… but I… didn't really give him a straight answer."

"Fox…" Slug said gently. Fox sighed.

"It's hard to tell, alright?" Fox said, casting his eyes downwards. "It's not like I'm proud of it. I don't like what I am."

"Of course you're not," Raccoon said. "But still, he's our client. And the Kyuubi isn't _you_, Fox. You're you, and the Kyuubi is the Kyuubi. Two separate things." This earned him a small smile from Fox.

"I'll tell him later," Fox said, hoping that his friends would drop the subject.

"Alright," Slug said. Both she and Raccoon knew he was procrastinating, but they didn't want to force him to do it either.

Meanwhile, it was decided that Harry would be spending Christmas at the Burrow. Fox was planning to get half the guards to follow Harry and the other half stay at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had insisted, with the usual twinkle in his eye, for the shinobi to all spend Christmas together, as it was a season of merry-making and together-ness and all that joy.

"We have a job to do," Fox had said. "We do not celebrate Christmas, so we will continue guarding."

"But haven't you ever heard the phrase: 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'?" Dumbledore had asked, smiling. Fox shook his head. "Well, it means when you're in another country, you should respect their customs."

"Yes, but we're not here for a holiday," Fox had argued. "This is a mission."

"I assure you, there won't be many people staying at Hogwarts," Dumbledore had said, "Less than twenty students, in fact. The staff members are more than capable of taking care of them."

Fox and Dumbledore had disputed over the topic, the latter rather cheerfully, for a few days before Fox finally admitted defeat.

"The Burrow might be a crowded place, though," Dove said. "I have seen it in Weasley-san's mind; it's quite small."

"It doesn't matter. We can even sleep outside if we must," Fox shrugged. "It won't really bother any of us."

"Yeah, sleep outside in the snow," Dove said. "That'll be quite warm, won't it?"

It had taken Fox a few minutes to realise that she was being sarcastic.

Stag had sighed and mumbled his usual "troublesome", but on the inside, he was regretful that he was missing some of the most important months of his daughter's life. This December, Michiko would be four months old. He wondered how Temari was going; she had said that she was well in their last letter, but ink on paper did not mean much to him. Well, there wasn't much he could do about it now…

Slug went to the last DA meeting for the term before the Christmas holidays. She raised her eyebrows as she entered the Room of Requirement and saw that it was decorated with banners bearing the words 'HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!'

She watched as Harry took down the banners, and glanced around when Luna Lovegood entered the room.

"Hello," Luna said vaguely. Unlike the other students, Luna did not seem to be intimidated by the ninja's cold remarks or their blank masks. She treated them like any other student.

Angelina, Katie and Alicia all arrived at the same time, all of whom were looking breathless and cold. It seemed that they had come from Quidditch practice.

"Well," said Angelina dully, pulling off her cloak and throwing it in a corner, "we've finally replaced you."

"Replaced me?" said Harry blankly.

"You and Fred and George," she said impatiently. "We've got another Seeker!"

"Who?" said Harry quickly.

"Ginny Weasley," said Katie.

Harry gaped at her. Slug was not surprised. She had seen the Weasley girl flying around quite a few times.

"Yeah, I know," said Angelina. "But she's actually pretty good. Nothing on you, of course," she said, throwing Harry a very dirty look, "but as we can't have you…"

Slug watched Harry's face work as he tried to restrain himself from retorting.

"And what about the Beaters?" Harry asked, in a very strained voice.

"Andrew Kirke," said Alicia without enthusiasm, "and Jack Sloper. Neither of them are brilliant, but compared to the rest of the idiots who turned up…"

The arrival of Ron, Hermione and Neville brought this depressing discussion to an end, and within five minutes the room was full.

Slug watched as Harry called the group to order, and explained that they would just be going over some spells today, as there was no point in starting anything new with a three week long holiday ahead of them. Despite herself, Slug was impressed with his leadership skills and how well he managed to get everyone to listen to him.

They practised the Impediment Jinx, and then started on Stunning again. At the end of the hour, Harry called a halt.

"You're getting really good," he said, beaming around at them like a proud teacher. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff – maybe even Patronuses."

_What are Patronuses?_ Slug wondered.

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a 'Happy Christmas' as they went.

Slug quietly reported everything to Fox via her radio, when she noticed Cho Chang hanging back. Knowing that the two wanted some alone time, Slug flashed Harry a hidden smirk and slipped out from of the room, waiting by the door outside.

Harry emerged from the room with a thoroughly lost expression on his face. Slug tried not to laugh, but contented herself by grinning. She knew it was unbecoming of an ANBU to show emotions like this, but the look on Harry's face was very amusing.

"Are you alright?" Slug asked. She was pleased to note that her voice remained blank, as usual. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. He nodded.

"Y-yeah," he said in a half strangled voice. Of course, Slug knew exactly what went on inside the Room.

"First time?" Slug asked. She felt the heat emitting from Harry's face.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. The two of them said no more until Harry entered the common room. Slug left him and went over to Fox, who was busy writing the next mission report.

_"Potter-san has just had his first kiss,"_ Slug whispered. She nodded to Wolf and Stag, and with one more glance towards Harry, she left the room. Fox turned around to see Ron burst out laughing, and an embarrassed expression on Harry's face.

"First kiss?" Fox asked briskly. Harry turned scarlet. "What's there to be shy about?"

"Fox, leave the kid alone," Stag said, stretching. "Stop teasing him."

"Fox isn't doing anything wrong," Wolf said. The ones who knew him well enough could hear the grin in his voice. To others, he sounded emotionless.

Harry, Ron and Hermione talked amongst themselves, which mainly consisted of Ron laughing, Harry staying silent and Hermione giving the boys inside information on girls.

* * *

><p>Harry dreamed he was back in the DA room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretences; she said he had promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frog Cards if she showed up. Harry protested…<p>

The dream was warped and crazy. Cho turned into Hermione and then Hermione turned into Dragon, and Harry was saying all kinds of strange things.

It changed.

His body felt smooth, powerful and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone… he was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly… it was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colours… he was turning his head… at first glance the corridor was empty… but no… a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark…

Harry put out his tongue… he tasted the man's scent on the air… he was alive but drowsy… sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor…

Harry longed to bite the man… but he must master the impulse… he had more important work to do…

But the man was stirring… a silver Cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt… he had no choice… he reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood…

The man was yelling in pain… then he fell silent… he slumped backwards against the wall… blood was splattering the floor…

His forehead hurt terribly… it was aching fit to burst…

"Potter-san! POTTER-SAN!"

* * *

><p><strong>(1) I actually have no idea how to block a punch, so I just made that bit up.<strong>

**It's up to the dream part of the story. **

**Teehee. **


	9. Dreams and Possesion

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long delay, but I haven't had time to write lately. I apologise about this, but I think I'm going to revert to the usual FanFiction writer updates. That is, the updates are going to be unpredictable and random. I know this will seem like forever, and I'm really sorry, but I've got a lot of stuff happening.**

**Anyway… I just got back from Cairns (Australia)! **

**My Dad (six days ago): We're going to Cairns this Sunday for six days!**

**My Mum: It'll be fun!**

**Me: *not really listening* Okay. Wait… WHAT?**

**My parents can be so random sometimes :x**

**The reviewers: BookWormForLife, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, tenshi-no-akuma-81, Spider's Thread, Hanzo of the Salamander, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Furionknight, WinxPossible, The Shadow Moon, LoverOfGames**

**Chapter Nine: Dreams and Possession **

* * *

><p>"Potter-san! POTTER-SAN!"<p>

Harry awoke, gasping, covered in cold sweat. He looked around wildly. Ron… he had to tell Ron. He rolled right over the edge of his bed and vomited.

"He's really ill," said a scared voice. "Should we call someone?"

"Harry! _Harry!_"

He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him.

Taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

"Your dad," he panted towards Ron's general direction, his chest heaving. "Your dad's… been attacked…"

"What?" said Ron uncomprehendingly. Harry felt someone enter the dormitory and go over to him.

"Potter-san, are you alright?" asked a low voice. Warm hands grasped his shoulders, shaking him slightly. Relief washed through him. Here was Fox, here was a ninja. The ninja could help; the ninja would know what to do…

"Ron's dad," Harry gasped. "He's been bitten, it's serious, there was blood everywhere…"

The rough, calloused hands left his shoulders, and Harry dimly heard Fox's voice in the darkness calling, "Dove, Dove, come in. I need you to report to the Gryffindor dorms immediately. I don't care what you're doing, this is urgent."

"Harry, mate," said Ron uncertainly, "you… you were just dreaming."

"No!" said Harry. "It wasn't a dream… not an ordinary dream… I was there, I saw it… I _did_ it…"

The pain in his forehead was subsiding slightly, though he was still sweating and shivering feverishly. He retched again and Ron leapt backwards out of the way. He could hear the shinobi murmuring softly in Japanese.

"Harry, you're not well," Ron said shakily. "Neville's gone for help. He's gone to get Professor McGonagall."

"I'm fine," Harry choked, wiping his mouth on his pyjamas and trembling uncontrollably. "There's nothing wrong with me, it's your dad you've got to worry about – we need to find out where he is – he's bleeding like mad – I was – it was a huge snake."

"Potter-san, calm down," Fox said seriously. "Calm down, Dove is coming."

"I don't care about Dove! Mr Weasley is in danger!" Harry shouted. Fox pushed him back onto the bed as he tried to stand up.

"We believe you," Wolf said, "just wait for Dove."

At that precise moment, Dove entered. She brushed her long fringe from her eyes.

"Look into Potter-san's mind," Fox said. Dove nodded curtly, not questioning why. Before the words could register themselves into Harry's brain, he felt a strange, whooping sensation.

* * *

><p>Dove wandered through the recesses of Harry's mind, and noticed a strange whirring of colours; something interesting. She drifted closer to it, and prodded it gently.<p>

An explosion of colours and sounds greeted her as she witnessed the dream firsthand. She did not seem disturbed; she just looked calmly at the vision with analytical eyes. Her interest piqued when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She could not examine it closer, because what she was saw only a memory and not even hers; she had no control over it. When the dream finished, she retreated from Harry's mind.

"He's telling the truth," Dove said coolly to her captain. _"It looked like a vision, not a dream,"_ she added in Japanese.

"Over here, Professor."

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown. Dove spotted relief in Harry's face, and as soon as he saw her he immediately launched into an explanation of what he saw. Stag cut over his babbling.

"Potter-san needs to see Dumbledore-san right now," Stag said. His voice was no longer idle. Instead, it was quick and authoritative. "Weasley-san, you come too."

The four ninja lead the way, with Harry and a confused Professor McGonagall behind them. Harry was filling in his teacher about what he had witnessed. He was still shaking and shivering, but he looked a little calmer now he saw that someone was taking him seriously.

Fred, George and Ginny Weasley, who had been woken up by Stag, walked behind the group. Ron brought up the rear.

Dove could feel the panic emitting from Harry as they walked sedately along the corridor. She could feel his burning desire to run, to yell for help. She could also see the terror in Harry's eyes, and she quickened her pace.

_"What did you see?"_ Fox asked.

_"It looked as though… Potter-san _was_ the snake. He was gliding along, and he saw Weasley-san. He bit him, three times,"_ Dove said.

_"He _was_ the snake, did you say?"_ Stag said, frowning. Dove nodded.

_"You said that it looked like a vision,"_ Wolf said.

_"According to Potter-san, it was,"_ Dove confirmed. _"And I also saw something… but I'm not sure if I'm correct."_

_"Go on," _Fox urged. Dove frowned.

_"I think I saw a corner of an Akatsuki cloak."_

Fox, Wolf and Stag were silent at this sudden news. The captain was clearly thinking hard.

In a few minutes, they had reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Whizzbee," said Professor McGonagall.

The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside; the wall behind it split in two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continually upwards like a spiral escalator. They stepped onto it; the wall closed behind them with a thud and they were moving upwards in tight circles until they reached the highly polished oak door with the brass knocker shaped like a griffin.

When they entered, the room was in half darkness. The strange silver instruments standing on tables were silent and still rather than whirring and emitting puffs of smoke as they usually did; the portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls were all snoozing in their frames. Behind the door, a magnificent red and gold bird the size of a swan dozed on its perch with its head under its wing.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his eyes averted from Harry's. The boy sat down shakily, the guards standing erect behind him.

As Harry recounted his vision, Fox ordered for all ANBU to be in Dumbledore's office via his radio. In three minutes, they were all there. Dove explained to them all what had happened, and when she was finished, the guards stood in stiff silence as Dumbledore instructed the witches and wizards on what to do.

_Potter-san is shaking like mad,_ Dove thought, staring down at the boy. _Well, anyone would be if they just felt as though they had pretty much killed their best friend's father…_

"Ninja," Dumbledore said finally, lifting his blue-eyed gaze towards them. "I want three of you to accompany Harry and the Weasley family to Grimmauld Place. I want another three to accompany me to St Mungo's to watch over Mr Weasley. The remaining shinobi will stay here at Hogwarts to guard until the term ends. Once the term ends, they will be going to Grimmauld Place. The three ninja at St Mungo's will stay there until Mr Weasley is out of hospital, and they too will be going to Grimmauld Place."

"Alright," Fox said. "Please give me a few minutes to organise."

He turned to his team, and looked at each and every one, surveying them. Eight different animal masks stared back, the eyes behind them emotionless and blank. They had a job to do.

"Raccoon, Slug and Cat will be going to St Mungo's," Fox said. The three said shinobi nodded. "Hawk, Stag and Dragon will be staying at Hogwarts. Wolf, Dove and I will be going with Potter-san and the others."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Fox, Dove, Wolf, we will be taking a Portkey." He gestured to the black kettle lying innocently on the desk in front of them.

_"Good bye, everyone," _Fox said. _"Take care. Slug, you will be in charge over Raccoon and Cat. Stag, you're leader over Hawk and Dragon. Do not get killed, watch out for the Akatsuki. As captain, I have a responsibility over you, I can't let you guys die."_

It may have been a little over-dramatic to say the last part, but the ninja knew that a job like this should not be taken lightly. This was an A-ranked mission which may quickly turn to S; something that put their lives on the line.

_"I'll be sending over some toads as messengers,"_ Fox said. _"Be careful."_

He touched the kettle, along with Dove, Wolf, Harry and the Weasleys. Akamaru put on a paw as well.

"Three," said Dumbledore, counting down the seconds until the Portkey activated. "Two."

Dove glanced up and saw Harry's face. She wasn't sure, but she swore that the boy suddenly had a snake-like appearance. His emerald eyes turned cold and hungry, and his expression twisted into something dark and sinister. As quickly as it had come, it disappeared. Dove was left feeling a little disturbed, and as she met her captain's and Wolf's eyes, knew that they had witnessed the same thing.

"One."

Her teammates were the last things Dove managed to get a glimpse of before her world became nothing but a blurry spin of colours.

Dove hit the ground smoothly, and as she straightened up from her crouch, she sensed an inhuman presence in the room.

"Back again, the blood-traitor brats. Is it true their father's dying?"

"OUT!" roared a second voice.

Dove's eyes quickly adapted to the darkness. She saw Sirius coming towards them, and the heels of Kreacher scampering out.

"What's going on?" he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured –"

"Ask Harry," said Fred.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," said George. Sirius nodded to the shinobi before turning to his godson as well.

The twins and Ginny were staring at Harry, who shifted nervously. Kreacher's footsteps had stopped on the stairs outside.

"Potter-san had a vision that a snake attacked your father," Fox said, speaking up for the first time. Dove knew he did this because he saw how hard it was for Harry to speak. The twins looked over at Fox, and Dove saw goose bumps rise up on their skin as they saw the three guards in the dark. No doubt it was spooky to see the masks of a wolf, fox and dove leering out at you from the shadows. Akamaru whined softly.

"Is Mum here?" said Fred, turning to Sirius in an effort to distract himself.

"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," said Sirius. "The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St Mungo's," said Ginny urgently. She looked around at her brothers; they were of course still in their pyjamas. "Sirius, could you lend us cloaks or anything?"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St Mungo's!" said Sirius.

"Course we can go to St Mungo's if we want," said Fred with a mulish expression. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Weasley-san was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?" Wolf asked quietly.

"What does it matter?" said George hotly.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of kilometres away!" said Sirius angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"

Fred and George looked as though they could not have cared less what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still ashen-faced and silent.

"Somebody else could have told us... we could have heard it somewhere other than Harry," said Ginny. Fox snorted quietly.

"Like who?" Fox asked. Ginny flinched from the cold tone of his voice. Fred and George glared at the ANBU captain.

Sirius huffed, and said, "Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's –"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" shouted Fred.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" yelled George.

"Your father knew what he was getting into and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius, equally as angry.

"This is exactly why you idiots aren't in the Order," Fox said softly. "You don't understand – there are things worth dying for."

"Easy for you to say," Fred snarled. "You don't have any parents to worry about."

Fred, of course, didn't know about Fox being an orphan; he was simply shouting random things in his fury about not being able to see his father. Unfortunately, he didn't know he was right.

Dove hissed and clenched her fists. She did not want Fox to get reminded of what he was.

"There are things worth dying for," Fox repeated calmly, sounding as though he did not hear what Fred had just said. "I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet."

"We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?" Sirius said. He was looking in concern at the ANBU captain, who was radiating some kind of cold anger.

Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Ron took a seat too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then sat down on either side of Ginny. The shinobi stayed standing, their arms folded tightly across their chests. Harry sat down on the table as well, massaging his temple.

The nine of them stayed in their respective positions without moving. It was a long, long night. It seemed as though everyone was frozen into still and silent statures. Nothing moved except for the sky, which gradually started to change colours. Even Akamaru stayed where he was, not moving, his intelligent eyes fixed on his friend and master.

Dove kept her sharp eyes on Harry's face, and she watched as an internal battled raged across his features. She could tell that Harry was extremely traumatised by what he had seen, and was trying to convince himself that it wasn't him who had bitten Mr Weasley. She breathed a quiet sigh which went unheard by the inhabitants of the room.

At ten past five in the morning, Dove sensed a presence outside. A shake from Fox showed that the person approaching was not an enemy. The kitchen door swung open and Mrs Weasley entered. She was extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, she gave them all a wan smile.

"He's going to be alright," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work."

The Weasleys all gave each other exhausted, but joyful smiles. Sirius set about making breakfast, until Harry asked to speak to him privately. There was such fear in his face that the ninja did not come and eavesdrop, though all three of them knew what he was going to talk about.

* * *

><p>The shinobi had Henge-d in a couple of normal looking teenagers, to the great amusement and interest of the other magical folk. They were going to visit Mr Weasley that day at St Mungo's, and Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody had come to escort them across London, seeing as no one really knew where St Mungo's was apart from Mrs Weasley. The ninja could get lost.<p>

"So how do you do that?" Hermione asked, nodding to the disguise Wolf had. He had Henge-d into a certain dark-haired, stoic faced Uchiha boy. Fox had raised an eyebrow when he saw who Wolf had turned into, and had muffled a quiet snicker.

"Hm? This?" Wolf said. Hermione nodded. "It's called a Henge-d. You use chakra to turn yourself into the appearance of another person, animal or object."

"Chakra?" Hermione mused. "That's the type of magic you ninja use, right?"

"Correct," Wolf said. He turned to glare at a few ogling strangers, effectively scaring them off. Akamaru had attracted a lot of stares and laughter, though Wolf had stubbornly refused for the giant dog to be left at Grimmauld Place.

The group of them moved through the crowded streets of London, and they finally stopped in front of a shop that read: 'Closed for Refurbishment'.

"Right," said Tonks, beckoning them towards a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy. Its false eyelashes were hanging off and it was modelling a green nylon pinafore dress, "Everybody ready?"

Tonks stated what they were here for, and Wolf jumped slightly when the dummy nodded and beckoned its jointed finger. Creepy...

He stepped through the glass, which felt like passing through cool water, emerging quite warm and dry on the other side.

There was no sign of the ugly dummy or the space where she had stood. They were in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs.

_So this is a wizarding hospital…_ Wolf thought. _Interesting…_

After being told where to go by the witch who sat at the counter, the group moved off to the first floor.

They followed Mrs Weasley through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with portraits of famous Healers and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling, looking like giant soapsuds. More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors as they passed. They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the Creature-Induced Injuries corridor.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," said Tonks. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once... it ought to be just the family first."

Moody growled his approval at this idea and set himself with his back against the wall. Fox, Dove and Wolf stationed themselves around the corridor as well and watched as the Weasley family and Harry entered the ward.

* * *

><p>Raccoon sensed familiar chakra outside the ward containing Mr Weasley. The door opened, and he glimpsed Fox, Dove and Wolf outside. They all nodded to each other, before getting blocked by the incoming rush of people. The twins, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Mrs Weasley all entered with the same worried expression on their faces.<p>

"Hello!" Mr Weasley called, throwing away the newspaper he had been reading. "Bill just left, Molly, had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later."

"How are you, Arthur?" said Mrs Weasley, bending down to kiss his cheek and looking anxiously into his face. "You're still looking a bit peaky."

_"Harry looks a little pale,"_ Slug murmured.

_"Well, he did see Weasley-san get attacked from the snake's point of view,"_ Raccoon said. _"No doubt he feels as though he was the one who bit him."_

_"That's silly,"_ Cat said. _"Fox said that Potter-san didn't even leave his bed."_

"So where were you when you were attacked?" asked George.

"That's my business," said Mr Weasley, "and anyway, I was just on duty." He said that though with a small smile. He snatched up the _Daily Prophet_, shook it open again and said, "I was just reading about Willy Widdershins' arrest when you arrived. You know Willy turned out to be behind those regurgitating toilets back in the summer? One of his jinxes backfired, the toilet exploded and they found him lying unconscious in the wreckage covered from head to foot in –"

"When you say you were 'on duty'," Fred interrupted in a low voice, "what were you doing?"

"You heard your father," whispered Mrs Weasley, "we are not discussing this here! Go on about Willy Widdershins, Arthur."

"Well, don't ask me how, but he actually got off the toilet charge," said Mr Weasley grimly. "I can only suppose gold changed hands –"

"You were guarding it, weren't you?" said George quietly, "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

"Shut up," Slug said coldly. "It's not in your place to know."

"Anyway," said Mr Weasley, in a raised voice, "this time Willy's been caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles and I don't think he'll be able to worm his way out of this one because, according to this article, two Muggles have lost fingers and are now in St Mungo's for emergency regrowth and memory modification. Just think of it, Muggles in St Mungo's! I wonder which ward they're in."

And he looked eagerly around as though hoping to see a signpost.

"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" said Fred, looking at his father for a reaction, "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

Raccoon moved restlessly. He wished that the two boys would close their mouths and not try and find everything out for themselves. Youths these days were too curious for their own good.

"That's enough," said Mrs Weasley crossly. "Mad-Eye and Tonks are outside, Arthur, they want to come and see you. And you lot can wait outside," she added to her children and Harry. "You can come and say goodbye afterwards. Go on."

Raccoon watched the kids go with freezing jade-green eyes. He knew that they would be up to something. Tonks and Moody came in, and Mrs Weasley gestured for the three guards and the large white dog waiting outside to enter as well.

"Slug, Cat, Raccoon," Fox said. "How are things going?"

The door shut behind them. Slug coughed when she saw the dude Wolf had Henge-d to, but did not say anything.

"Fine," Cat said. Fox turned to Mr Weasley.

"How are you faring, Weasley-san?" Fox asked quietly. Mr Weasley looked startled to be addressed by the normally silent guard, but then he smiled.

"All good, thanks very much," Mr Weasley said. Raccoon saw Wolf shift slightly; no doubt he was uncomfortable with the smell of decaying flesh that the three inhabitants in the ward were giving off.

"So, any news about the snake?" Mr Weasley asked, his tone suddenly serious. Tonks shook her head.

"They searched the whole area but couldn't find that thing anywhere," Tonks said glumly. "It just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur… but You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"

"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," growled Moody, "'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had a lot more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?"

"He did," Dove said. "It was from the snake's point of view... like he _was_ the snake."

"You know," said Mrs Weasley uneasily, "Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this."

"Yeah, well," said Moody, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"There's nothing wrong with being different," Fox said softly. "He didn't ask for this kind of power. It's not his fault."

Raccoon frowned, knowing full well why Fox sounded so bitter, and Raccoon understood completely.

"Of course Potter didn't ask for it," Moody said. "But still, he's got it."

Fox sighed and raised his eyes to the ceiling. Moody watched Fox for a few seconds before opening his scarred mouth.

"I can't see through those masks of yours," Moody said bluntly. All the ninja in the area glanced over to the heavily scarred ex-Auror. Raccoon himself was a little surprised; he had heard that Moody's eye could see through anything.

"You can't?" Wolf asked. Moody shook his head.

"I can't see through those masks of yours," Moody repeated, "so I don't know what kind of expression is on your face at the moment, Fox, but it sounds like you understand a little bit about Potter."

"I don't," Fox said heavily. "I don't understand Potter-san. But then again, I've never really tried to. Before, when I first met him, he just seemed like an over-protected brat who knew nothing of danger. But now…"

He left his sentence hanging and stared moodily at the ground. Finally, Mrs Weasley broke the silence.

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," whispered Mrs Weasley.

"Of course he's worried," said Mr Weasley impatiently.

"The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake. Obviously, Potter doesn't realise what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him –"

**Outside the ward**

Harry pulled the Extendable Ear out of his own, his heart hammering very fast and heat rushing up to his face. He looked around at the others. They were all staring at him. They had pulled the Extendable Ears out of their ears as well, and they were all looking at him fearfully.

However, if Harry had kept on listening to the conversation, it may have spared him days of worry and horror.

**Inside the ward**

"Impossible," Raccoon said. "When you posses someone, you get into their minds and control their bodies, correct?"

"Yeah," Tonks confirmed.

"Potter-san did not leave his bed," Wolf said. "He thrashed around a bit, yelled quite a lot, but his body stayed in Gryffindor Tower."

"Is that true?" Moody asked, turning to the ANBU captain. Fox nodded.

"Very true," Fox said.

"Well, that cancels out the possibility that Potter is not possessed," Raccoon said.

"That's a relief," Wolf said. "It might take some very difficult procedures to get Voldemort out of his head if he was."

"Thank heavens," Mrs Weasley sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Has anyone here read <em>The Book Thief <em>by Markus Zusak? Our class is studying that novel next term, so we were made to buy it. I read it quite quickly, purely because it was so good. One thing that I found interesting was that the Narrator of the story was Death. The story is set during World War II, and the main character is a young German girl. The girl moves in with her foster parents, and though whole family are German, they don't exactly like Hitler. During the story, they also hide a Jew in their basement. **

**I really like Markus Zusak's writing style, and I really want to read more of his stories, but his novels are usually not on the shelves of our libraries because other people have got them T^T I do recommend this book to you people; it's very good. **

**I guess I should thank my English teacher for forcing me to read this. **

**Ahem, would you guys like me to announce the pairings that I have for this story? I know I said that there will be pretty much no romance, but I did say I would hint at it. HINT being the keyword. No, not GUSHY-GOEY LOVE, okay? HINT.**

**Yes, I would like reviews...**


	10. Merry Christmas

**Hmm… you know, if someone asked me which crossover enjoy writing (To Be Different or Broken Wings), I would say 'To Be Different'. I have so many good plots and ideas running around my head for this fic, and I can't wait to write them out and post them! **

**OMG! Who here reads _Hunter x Hunter_? Well, for those who do… it's apparently coming off (its very long) hiatus and appearing again in the August issue of Shounen Jump! Woohoo! I'm been waiting for ages for it to resume its serialisation again :DDD**

**Chapter Nine reviewers: wunsleh, Furionknight, MadnessLover, WinxPossible, an anonymous reviewer, SimFlyer, The Shadow Moon, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, im2lazy4aname, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Anonymous Perspective, UchihaCrest, Hanzo of the Salamander, Spider's Thread, Lady Logos, Dimension Roamer, igottahavethatcupcake and nightliliesu.**

**Ah yes, the pairings. They're pretty much the same as my other cross-over, except, of course, there will be minimum scenes with them. It will normally be just a few exchanged words, or a hand on the shoulder... that type of thing.**

**NaruHina**

**KibaIno**

**GaaSaku**

**NejiTen**

**ShikaTem**

**Ahahaha. I think I pissed off some random on FanFiction XD He/she sent me a message about how he/she hates me and wants me to die because he/she clicked on the 'Click This' thing on my profile (it's gone now. I accidently erased my whole profile and pressed 'save'. I'm just stupid that way XP). In fact, I found the message more funny than offending (actually, I wasn't offended or angry at all) XP He/she used lots of capital letters and curse words, and as I read it, I sat there thinking 'This is your fault, not mine'. There was a time where, if I had found this email in my inbox, I would have run off to my room and be depressed, but I am proud to say that after receiving idiotic reviews and reading flames for other stories, I have developed a fullmetal heart (guess where that's from...). The middle part of the message didn't really make sense to me though. He/she just started babbling on about how they wouldn't back down from a challenge or something weird like that. Then again, I have to admire this writer for being bold enough to send me this… although he/she probably thought that I couldn't track him/her down to kill him/her anyway :P**

**Huh. I haven't said the disclaimer for a while now, have I?**

**Naruto and Harry Potter do not belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K Rowling respectively. **

**Chapter Ten: Merry Christmas**

* * *

><p>Fox, Dove and Wolf bid good bye to their comrades and they all headed back to Grimmauld Place. Fox noticed that as soon as they arrived Harry went straight up to his room, not saying a word to anybody. Fox heard some clunking and moving around upstairs, but he thought nothing of it. Finally, when it became quiet, did Fox body-flicker up to where he knew Harry was.<p>

When he entered Harry's room, he found the boy in a fitful slumber. Harry was tossing around, and sweat covered his brow. Fox stared at him for a few minutes before _poof_-ing away.

"How is he?" Dove asked when Fox reappeared again. It was around midnight, and everyone had gone to bed with the exception of the three ninja. Fox shrugged.

"Not very good," Fox said. Before he could say more, however, a falcon flew through the grimy windows of Grimmauld Place.

"That's Hawk's summon," Wolf said, hurrying over. The falcon landed on his arm, digging its talons into his skin.

_"The name's Yuki (1),"_ the falcon said. He preened his wings and then fixed Fox with his large amber eyes.

_"What have you got for me?"_ Fox asked. The falcon left Wolf's arm and fluttered away to Fox.

_"Just a report,"_ Yuki said. _"Nothing's out of place. Everything's fine. That Umbridge woman's being a bitch."_

Dove smirked at the falcon's language.

_"Stag's supposed to be the leader over there,"_ Fox said. _"Why didn't he send a summon?"_

_"Why do you think?"_ Yuki muttered. _"Too troublesome for him, I suppose."_

The falcon flapped his wings and flew off out into the starry night.

"That falcon is the exact opposite of Hawk," Wolf grinned. He patted Akamaru on the head, "isn't he, Akamaru?"

* * *

><p>The following morning, everybody else spent their time putting up Christmas decorations. Fox noticed that Sirius was unusually happy, probably because he was going to have company over Christmas; he was actually singing carols, and he was quite good at it.<p>

Fox also saw that Harry was especially quiet and moody, often staying up in his room for hours at a time. He barely saw the boy anymore, and when he did he looked as though someone had made a paste out of anger and fear, and then smeared it on Harry's face.

Around six o'clock that evening, the doorbell rang and Fox saw Hermione Granger enter. He came face to face with her as she went up the stairs, and he gave her a cold, once-over glance and passed her, not saying anything. He left Hermione staring after him in indignant disbelief before she made her way up to Buckbeak's room to talk to Harry.

Stag, Hawk and Dragon had also arrived with Hermione, and Fox was relieved to see that his teammates were fine.

"What did you think was going to happen to us?" Hawk asked, raising an invisible eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing," Fox said, waving away the question.

"Have more faith in us, captain," Dragon said, sighing.

"Troublesome," Stag muttered.

When Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Harry came downstairs later, Harry was looking considerably happier. He worked tirelessly at decorating the house, and Fox smiled faintly at the way everyone in the house acted as Christmas drew nearer.

"What's Christmas?" Fox asked. Dove shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know?" Dove said. "Go ask someone else; maybe this is some kind of wizard thing." He decided to heed her advice, and went over to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who were putting up tinsel around the kitchen.

Fox coughed softly, but it caught the kids' attention.

"Y-yes?" Hermione said nervously. She was still intimidated by the guards, but if asked, she would deny the fact.

"What is Christmas?" Fox asked bluntly. Four sets of jaws were heard hitting the floor.

"You don't know what Christmas is?" Harry said, his voice incredulous.

"No," Fox replied, a little coldly.

"Did you even have a childhood?" Ron asked. Surprise was etched on his face. He was only joking, of course, but Fox didn't know that.

A pause.

"Of course I did," Fox said smoothly. His voice was even, masking the slight tremor that it contained.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny explained exactly what Christmas was, and Harry, meanwhile, frowned, narrowing his green eyes. He hadn't missed the hesitation that occurred before Fox had answered, but he then shrugged it away. Maybe the childhoods of ninja were different to wizards.

The ninja did not help in decorating the house, but they were infected slightly with the joyous atmosphere. However, even the merry-making of this celebration did not ease the worries that weighed heavily on Fox's mind.

Why weren't the Akatsuki doing anything? He knew that they wanted him, but they hadn't made a move yet. He was anxious, and became even more so when a summon came to deliver him a message from his other comrades. Were the Akatsuki trying to do a sneak attack? What were they trying to achieve by teaming up with Voldemort?

"Stop worrying," Wolf muttered on Christmas Day. Fox had been sitting at the dining table while everyone was still in their rooms, opening their presents.

"Wolf," Fox said, glancing over at him. Akamaru padded quietly to his side and nudged Wolf's calf. The dog nin lay a hand on Akamaru's large white head.

"We'll know when the Akatsuki or Voldemort decide to strike," Wolf said. "In the meantime, all we gotta do is wait."

"I know," Fox said. "But still, I can't help it."

"We know that," Dove said, slipping in silently from the shadows, "but it doesn't help us when we see our captain getting concerned for nothing, even if we do know he's worried for us."

Fox gave the two of them a half smile.

"Dove's right," Wolf said. "We'll be fine. We'll _all_ be fine. Stop worrying."

"Sorry," Fox said.

"We're not asking you to apologise, idiot," Dove said, making a tiny sound of amusement. All three of the shinobi turned when Ron entered the kitchen, yawning heavily. He stopped short when he saw the guards. They looked intimidating even if they didn't mean to be.

"Oh," Ron said uncomfortably, his ears turning red, "um… Merry Christmas?"

He tilted the end of the sentence slightly so that it formed a question.

They stared at him long enough for him to feel uncomfortable. Ron began backing up the stairs before Fox opened his mouth.

"Merry Christmas, Weasley-san," Fox said softly.

"Merry Christmas," Dove said.

"Uh… Merry Christmas," Wolf said. Akamaru gave a short yelp.

Ron looked surprised at the responses, but after an awkward grin he went back upstairs.

Dragon, Hawk and Stag came into the kitchen at one point, where the six shinobi sat in moody silence. When the rest of the Weasley family and Sirius entered the kitchen, the guards were surprised to have received a Christmas gift each as well.

"Thank you for taking care of Harry and my children," said Mrs Weasley. She was still wary of them, but she could not deny that they were doing their job well.

"Oh… you're welcome," Fox said, a little startled. The six of them received homemade jumpers with their codenames written on them as well as small mince pies. Fox warmed up to the motherly witch slightly.

That day, they were also going to go to St Mungo's to visit Mr Weasley once they had eaten their Christmas lunch. Mundungus had 'borrowed' a car, which had been magically altered, so that it was normally proportioned outside, but could fit around fifteen people quite comfortably inside. Fox, Dove and Wolf went with them.

The journey to St Mungo's was quite quick as there was very little traffic on the roads. A small trickle of witches and wizards were creeping furtively up the otherwise deserted street to visit the hospital.

They passed through the glass where the ugly dummy stood and entered the reception area.

St Mungo's looked pleasantly festive: the crystal orbs that illuminated St Mungo's had been coloured red and gold to become gigantic, glowing Christmas baubles; holly hung around every doorway; and shining white Christmas trees covered in magical snow and icicles glittered at every corner, each one topped with a gleaming gold star. It was less crowded than the last time they had been there.

They found Mr Weasley propped up in bed with the remains of his turkey dinner on a tray on his lap and a rather sheepish expression on his face. Slug was smirking slightly, and Raccoon and Cat both looked amused.

"Merry Christmas," Mrs Weasley smiled. She handed the three shinobi her gifts, and they took it, surprised, but warmly thanked her for them.

"Everything alright, Arthur?" asked Mrs Weasley, after they had greeted Mr Weasley and handed over their presents.

"Fine, fine," said Mr Weasley, a little too heartily. "You – er – haven't seen Healer Smethwyck, have you?"

"No," said Mrs Weasley, eyeing her husband, who looked rather guilty, "why?"

"Nothing, nothing," said Mr Weasley airily, starting to unwrap his pile of gifts. Cat coughed to hide her laughter.

Mrs Weasley started to grow suspicious, and it ended up with her yelling at Mr Weasley for trying to find out whether or not stitches worked on magical wounds. Slug snorted quietly, and she noticed that almost all of Mrs Weasley's fellow visitors were scurrying for cover as she exploded.

Fox, Dove and Wolf followed the kids, who had muttered something about getting a cup of tea.

They found Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny staring at their ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lockhart. Wolf immediately decided that he didn't like him. Dove and Fox thought the same thing as they looked at the man's dazzling white teeth and hearty words.

"He reminds me of Gai-sensei," Wolf muttered. Dove nodded, staring in revulsion at the brain-damaged professor, "teeth, obliviousness and all."

The three ninja and followed the kids inside Lockhart's room. He instantly began signing autographs and flinging them into Ginny's lap.

A Healer walked around giving the various people who lived in Lockhart's ward presents from their various senders.

"Here you are, Agnes," said the Healer brightly, handing a furry-faced woman a small pile of Christmas presents. "See, you're not forgotten, are you? And your son's sent an owl to say he's coming to visit tonight, so that's nice, isn't it?"

Agnes gave several loud barks.

"And look, Broderick, you've been sent a pot plant and a lovely calendar with a different fancy Hippogriff for each month; they'll brighten things up, won't they?" said the Healer, bustling along to a mumbling man, setting a rather ugly plant with long, swaying tentacles on the bedside cabinet and fixing the calendar to the wall.

Wolf stared at the potted plant suspiciously, and Akamaru growled at it. He had a bad feeling, but he didn't know why.

"Mrs Longbottom, are you leaving already?"

Wolf glanced around. The curtains at the end of the ward had been pulled back and now two visitors were walking back down the aisle between the beds: a formidable-looking witch wearing a long green dress, a moth-eaten Fox fur and a pointed hat decorated with what was unmistakably a stuffed vulture and, trailing behind her looking thoroughly depressed – _Neville._

Wolf, Fox and Dove all watched with in silence as Ron looked up in recognition of the name, and as Harry tried desperately to distract him.

"Neville!" Ron called. "Hi! Who've been visiting?"

"Friends of yours, Neville, dear?" said Neville's grandmother graciously, bearing down upon them all. Her cat-like eyes swept the area, and she rested her gaze upon the three shinobi for a second or two before she looked away again.

Neville looked as though he would rather be anywhere in the world but here. A flush was creeping up his neck, and he was avoiding eye-contact with any of them.

The magical folk chatted for a few minutes while the shinobi looked stonily at the two people whom Neville and his grandmother had been visiting.

"Haven't you told your friends about your parents, Neville?" Neville's grandmother said sharply, jolting Wolf out of his thoughts. Neville took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling and shook his head.

"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" said Mrs Longbottom angrily. "You should be _proud_, Neville, _proud_! They didn't give their health and their sanity so their only son would be ashamed of them, you know!"

"I'm not ashamed," said Neville, very faintly.

"Well you've got a very funny way of showing it!" said Mrs Longbottom. "My son and wife," she said, turning haughtily to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, "were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers."

Wolf stared unblinkingly as Hermione and Ginny both clapped their hands over their mouths and Ron looked mortified.

_"Sad,"_ said Fox without any feeling in his voice, _"for such people to be broken like that."_

_"Neville seems like a nice boy," _Dove said. _"Who knew he was hiding this much hurt?"_

_"I always thought… that Longbottom-san's eyes were hiding some deep, dark secret," _Fox said quietly. _"I always thought that they were covering up his pain, but I never bothered to find out."_

_"Things like this aren't easy to talk about,"_ Wolf said. _"I mean, Longbottom-san's known Potter-san, Weasley-san and Granger-san for years, and he's never told them, has he?"_

_"True,"_ Fox said. _"Very true."_

* * *

><p>Fudge was a very pissed off man right now. Yes, very pissed off indeed. He had just received word that Dumbledore had hired ninja to guard his castle. The letter was short, but Fudge had a feeling that the headmaster was sitting in his office laughing at him now.<p>

_Greetings, Cornelius,_

_Please accept my apologies for not informing you sooner, but it must have slipped my mind. This year, I decided to hire some shinobi to protect Hogwarts. I hope you approve. Ninja are very good at their job, so I thought that it would be a good idea._

_Again, I sincerely apologise for this late notice. I forgot._

_Regards,_

_Albus Dumbledore  
>Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry<em>

As Fudge stared, eyebrow twitching, down at the piece of parchment, he knew he had reason to believe that the word 'forgot' in the letter should have been written inside quotation marks.

_Forgot indeed,_ Fudge thought irritably, _he probably 'forgot' on purpose._

As he lay the letter down on his desk, he started thinking deeply. A finger made its way up to his chin, and he stared at the ground without really seeing it.

_Ninja? Nonsense! Ninja and wizards have not breached the barrier for a few hundred years (2),_ Fudge thought. _Ninja are dangerous. Even a man such as Dumbledore would not dare…_

But then a very nasty thought wormed its way into the Minister's mind.

_Dumbledore is raising an army,_ Fudge thought uneasily. _What if he managed to strike a bargain with those savages? Physically, they are much more powerful than wizards, though their techniques may vary in strength to a wizard's spell. Argh! What is Dumbledore trying to do?_

"Alright," Fudge said out loud, "time to do some cleaning."

He stood up from the comfortable, ornate chair he was sitting in and paced around his desk, thinking hard.

_I could arrest them, but on what charges? _Fudge thought. _No, no, I won't arrest them. First, I'll see what's happening in Hogwarts, and then I'll make my decision. _

* * *

><p>For the first time in his life, Harry was not looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. Going back to school would mean placing himself once again under the tyranny of Dolores Umbridge, who had no doubt managed to force through another dozen decrees in their absence; there was no Quidditch to look forward to now that he had been banned; there were exhausting lessons with the shinobi every Saturday; there was every likelihood that their burden of homework would increase as the exams drew nearer; and Dumbledore remained as remote as ever. In fact, if it hadn't been for the DA, Harry thought he might have begged Sirius to let him leave Hogwarts and remain in Grimmauld Place.<p>

Then, on the very last day of the holidays, something happened that made Harry positively dread his return to school.

"Harry, dear," said Mrs Weasley, poking her head into his and Ron's bedroom, where the pair of them were playing wizard chess, watched by Hermione, Ginny, and strangely enough, Dragon. "Professor Snape is here and he wants to speak to you."

"He – what?" Harry said, confused.

"Professor Snape, dear, in the kitchen. He'd like a word."

Harry's mouth fell open in horror. He looked around at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all of whom were gaping back at him. Dragon looked as though she had been expecting it, and she slipped lithely off the bed she had been sitting on and headed down to the kitchen.

"Snape?" said Harry blankly.

"Yes, dear," said Mrs Weasley. "Now come on, quickly, he says he can't stay long."

"What's he want with you?" said Ron, looking unnerved.

A minute or two later, he pushed open the kitchen door to find Sirius and Snape seated at the long kitchen table, glaring in opposite directions. The silence between them was heavy with mutual dislike. Fox, Hawk and Dragon stood in the corner, observing the hatred.

The three of them glanced up as Harry entered, and Snape looked around too, his face framed between curtains of greasy hair.

"Sit down, Potter."

"You know," said Sirius loudly, leaning back on his rear chair legs and speaking to the ceiling, "I think I'd prefer it if you didn't give orders here, Snape. It's my house, you see."

An ugly flush suffused Snape's pallid face and he opened his mouth to retort.

"Ahem," Dragon said, cutting off what Snape was about to say. "Shall we get to business?"

Snape glared at her, his mouth twisting into an ugly grimace.

"This does not concern you," he said. Fox scoffed.

"Anything to do with Potter-san concerns us," Fox said. "That's the reason we're here."

"Anyway," Snape said, turning back to Harry. "The headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term."

"Study what?" said Harry blankly.

Snape's sneer became more pronounced. Harry noticed that Hawk was restraining himself from stabbing Snape in the back with a sharp pointy thing. He tried to keep his face straight.

"Occlumency, Potter. The magical defence of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one."

"Why do I have to study Occlu- thing?" he blurted out. His heart was hammering very fast. He was sure that he was not being possessed.

"Because the headmaster thinks it's a good idea," said Snape smoothly. "You will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anybody what you are dong, least of all Professor Umbridge. You understand?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Who's going to be teaching me?"

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I am," he said.

_"Shit,"_ Fox muttered. _"Potter-san is not going to enjoy this."_

Extra lessons with Snape – what on earth had he done to deserve this? He looked around quickly at Sirius for support.

"Why can't Dumbledore teach Harry?" asked Sirius aggressively, "Why you?"

"I suppose it is a headmaster's privilege to delegate less enjoyable tasks," said Snape silkily. "I assure you I did not beg for the job." He got to his feet. "I will expect you at six o'clock on Monday evening, Potter. My office. If anybody asks, you are taking remedial Potions. Nobody who has seen you in my classes could deny you need them."

"I wonder why," Dragon said under her breath, "biased bastard." Hopefully no one heard that apart from her fellow shinobi. Hawk shifted beside her.

Snape turned to leave, his black travelling cloak billowing behind him.

"Wait a moment," said Sirius, sitting up straighter in his chair.

Snape turned to face them, leering.

"I am in rather a hurry, Black. Unlike you, I do not have unlimited leisure time."

"I'll get to the point, then," said Sirius, standing up. He was taller than Snape, and his hands were balled into fists. "If I hear you're using these Occlumency lessons to give Harry a hard time, you'll have to answer to me."

"How touching," Snape sneered. "But surely you have noticed that Potter is very much like his father?"

"Yes, I have," said Sirius proudly.

"Well then, you'll know he's so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off him," Snape said sleekly. Dragon's lips twitched at that. Despite herself, she was impressed with the comeback.

Sirius pushed his chair roughly aside and strode around the table towards Snape, pulling out his wand as he went. Snape whipped out his own. They were squaring up to each other, Sirius looking livid, Snape calculating, his eyes darting from Sirius' wand tip up to his face.

"Sirius," said Harry loudly, but Sirius appeared not to have heard him.

"I've warned you, _Snivellus_," said Sirius, his face barely thirty centimetres away from Snape's, "I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you've reformed, I know better –"

"Oh, but why don't you tell him so?" whispered Snape. "Or are you afraid he might not take very seriously the advice of a man who has been hiding inside his mother's house for six months?"

Before Sirius could retort, Hawk had flashed between then, a kunai in each hand, his pearly eyes angry.

"Gentlemen," Hawk said calmly, though his eyes still burned, "why don't you stop acting like _gaki_ and put your wands away?"

Both Snape's and Sirius' eyes flashed to the Hyuuga, but they did not lower their wands.

Fox sighed and body-flickered between the two men. A second later, their wands disappeared and Fox held them, annoyance clear in his eyes.

"Give me back my wand," Sirius said slowly, deliberately. Fox met Sirius squarely in the eyes.

"No."

The kitchen door opened and the entire Weasley family, plus Hermione, came inside, all looking very happy, with Mr Weasley walking proudly into their midst wearing a pair of striped pyjamas. Slug, Raccoon and Cat entered behind them.

"Cured," said Mr Weasley brightly, "Completely cured!"

He and all the other Weasleys froze on the threshold, gazing at the scene in front of them, which was also suspended in mid-action, both Sirius and Snape looking towards the door with their fists balled up in anger, Harry next to Sirius, Hawk between them pointing a kunai to their chests, Fox standing away with two wands and Dragon standing at the side, looking bored, but also exasperated.

"Merlin's beard," said Mr Weasley, the smile sliding off his face. "What's going on in here?"

The appearance of so many unexpected witnesses seemed to jolt the two wizards back into their senses. Fox saw this, and threw each of them their wands, which they caught. Snape pocketed his wand and swept away without another word. At the door he looked back.

"Six o'clock, Monday evening, Potter."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) I chose Yuki as the name for the falcon because Yuki is a name for either guys or girls. I was just making fun of Neji and how, when he is in ANBU, most stories make people mistake him for a girl XD<strong>

**(2) This will be explained later on in the story.**

**Okay guys... don't kill me; this is just my general opinion… about Karin.**

**Personally, I hated her at the beginning. But after Sasuke almost killed her when she was taken hostage by Danzo and stabbed straight through her, I kinda felt sorry for her. Karin is annoying, yes, I admit that, but after she claimed that she didn't care about Sasuke anymore, she changed. I don't hate her anymore, nor do I like her, but people just keep picking on her, and I don't think it's really fair, considering that she's no longer infatuated with Sasuke. Right now, she's just another character to me, so I feel neutral about her. This is just my opinion, you guys don't have to agree with it XD**

**Geez, I used the word 'her' so many times in that paragraph.**

**I always ramble on about random things in my Author's Notes. It's like a weird one-sided conversation with my readers, who may or may not comment about it in their reviews… **

**Yeah, about this chapter... meh, not very eventful… but the problems all start in the next one!**

**And by the way, in the Naruto manga (Fourth Shinobi World War)… what the heck happened to Sasuke?**

**God, I watched 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' a few days ago, and it was the saddest movie ever. I cried so hard at the ending, it was so unexpected. I felt really sorry for his mother as well. She seemed like a really nice woman. I was actually hoping for his father (who happens to be played by the actor of Remus Lupin. Ironic, isn't it, considering this is a Harry Potter crossover fanfic and all) to kill himself after what happened to Bruno, but no, didn't happen. **


	11. Tension

**Just came back from a week of camping with twenty odd students in my year level . Tiring, but fun. We have to climb up this massive hill, that didn't even look like a hill, more like a freakin' rock climbing wall with loose bits of gravel and rock that is so easy to slip on D: So steep, and we had to drag our stupid bikes up it T.T**

**I have made a mistake, but you guys probably don't care. It's just a minor one. I realized that the ANBU arrived in August, and I said that they're all either seventeen or eighteen, but some of them (Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino) haven't had their birthdays yet, so they're only sixteen. This chapter is past the New Year in the Harry Potter book (I think it's January at this point in the fic), so they (Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino) have all turned seventeen like the rest of them (Gaara, Kiba, Sakura) apart from Neji and Tenten, who have already had their birthdays prior to their arrival in the wizarding dimension and are already eighteen. Since it has past the New Year, Gaara will be having his birthday soon (January 19th) except I don't even know when they start term (in Harry Potter), so I'm assuming that it's before the 19th. He will be the first of our ANBU to age one year older. He's gonna be turning eighteen! **

**I hope you guys understood that, with all the brackets and whatnot. Many people seem to find my Author's Notes amusing. I'm glad you like them. I didn't even know that they all that entertaining XDDD**

**And oh dear Lord I love you guys. Chapter Ten was the most reviewed chapter in 'To Be Different' so far! I got THIRTY FOUR REVIEWS! FREAKING THIRTY FOUR REVIEWS! I wasn't going to update for another two weeks or so, but all the reviewers just made me smile, so I decided to post to reward you guys. Anyway, the Chapter Ten reviewers: **

**Kyuubi No Tenshi, tenshi-no-akuma-81, Sakura19Haruno95, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, SiriusBalisticPretzels, im2lazy4aname, StrawberriesAndCinnamon, Hanzo of the Salamander, Andybiotics, CJWrites, R.S. Salvatore, BookWormForLife, Namikaze Soul, ThePurpleSuperCow, MadnessLover, Phr33k, Lana-shino, TKB17, Dimensional Roamer, Spider's Thread, furuba-suzume, iamarandomstuff, The Shadow Moon, ladyyuuki16, Tranquil-Chaos, Awesome Me, Jadesilkmoon, Yancha Kitsune, reven228, immature-girl, nightliliesu, SasuHina4evr, InuSarah-sama and NinjaTerra**

**[For those who read Hunter x Hunter] OMG IT HAS FINALLY STARTED ITS SERIALIZATION AGAIN!**

**[For those who read Bleach – this is a spoiler (sort of)] OMG RUKIA CUT HER HAIR! Nooo! I like her better with long hair! Not that she isn't pretty now, but still…**

**Chapter Eleven: Tension **

* * *

><p>Harry's first day back at Hogwarts had been a dreary one. He was due to start Occlumency that night as well. The previous night, they (meaning the ninja, him, Ron, Hermione, Moody and co.) had taken the Night Bus to Hogwarts, which consisted of Ron being thrown down the length of the bus and back again about six times and Harry holding onto the railing to keep himself from the same fate. The ninja had handled it quite well and, for some reason, had managed to stay in their seats. When asked how they did this, they said something about "using chakra on your feet and ass." Fox though, had looked slightly green beneath the mask, and as they got off, he muttered some incoherent lines about never using transport again (1). Harry thought this was strange, as he had handled it quite well on the Hogwarts Express.<p>

For Harry, being at Hogwarts meant back to being tortured by Umbridge, homework and lessons again. For the ninja, it meant tedious night guarding and sorting out misbehaving students as well as watching out for the Akatsuki and Voldemort.

That night, Harry had successfully asked Cho out, but even the happy glow of his accomplishment was diminished as six o'clock drew nearer. He didn't know what Occlumency was, but he decided that he hated it... but only because Snape was the teacher.

* * *

><p>Harry paused outside Snape's office with Hawk behind him, and he sorely wished that he didn't have to do this. He took a breath, and opened the door.<p>

The shadowy room was lined with shelves bearing hundreds of glass jars in which slimy bits of animals and plants were suspended in variously coloured potions. There were no windows, so no light shone through. It was lit only by candles.

_This place reminds me of Orochimaru,_ Hawk thought uncomfortably, remembering the Snake Sannin's love of 'experimenting'.

His attention, however, was drawn towards the desk, where a shallow stone basin engraved with runes and symbols lay in a pool of candlelight. Hawk remembered seeing it in Dumbledore's office, and if he remembered correctly, it was called a Pensieve.

"Shut the door behind you," said a cold voice from the shadows. Hawk turned to look at Snape's freezing black eyes. The Potions master pointed silently at a chair, where Harry sat on. Hawk hovered behind the boy, looking at Snape with mutual dislike.

"Well, Potter, you know why you're here," Snape said, ignoring Hawk. "The headmaster has asked me to teach you Occlumency. I can only hope that you prove more adept at it than Potions."

Harry stared at him coldly.

"Now, Occlumency, as I told you back in your dear godfather's kitchen, is a branch of magic that seals the mind against magical intrusion and influence.

"The Dark Lord is highly skilled at Legilimency, which is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind. Those who master Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and are able to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled in Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so can utter falsehoods in his presence without detection.

"Hogwarts is a safeguarded from the Dark Lord's Legilimency because of its many ancient spells and charms to ensure the bodily and mental safety of those who dwell within them. Time and space matter in magic and eye contact is often essential to Legilimency.

"The reason why you need to learn Occlumency is that the usual rules do not seem to apply to you, Potter. The curse that failed to kill you seems to have forged some kind of connection between you and the Dark Lord. The evidence suggests that at time, when your mind is most relaxed and vulnerable – when you are asleep, for instance – you are sharing the Dark Lord's thoughts and emotions. The headmaster thinks it is inadvisable for this to continue. He wishes me to teach you how to close your mind to the Dark Lord.

"It also appears that the Dark Lord has been unaware of the connection between you and himself until very recently. Up until now it seems that you have been experiencing his emotions, and sharing his thoughts, without him being any the wiser. However, the vision you had shortly before Christmas, the one that contained Arthur Weasley, represented such a powerful incursion upon the Dark Lord's thoughts that he had become aware of the connection.

"You seem to have visited the snake's mind because that was where the Dark Lord was at that particular moment. He possessed the snake at the time and so you dreamed you were inside it too. And he realised that you were there.

"The Dark Lord is now aware that you are gaining access to his thoughts and feelings. He has also deduced that the process is likely to work in reverse; that is to say, he has realised that he might be able to access your thoughts and feelings in return and he might try to make you do things."

Snape had explained all this without being interrupted, and Hawk was trying to remember all the information which had suddenly spewed forth. He had to report this to Fox. It was important information.

After the lecture, Snape and Harry started practising. It wasn't fun.

Hawk watched as Snape entered Harry's mind over and over again. He watched as pain flashed across Harry's features, watched as he shouted out, and watched as he struggled to throw Snape out of his mind. He had been instructed by both Fox and Dumbledore not to do anything, but that did not stop his disapproval from leaking out.

"I KNOW! I KNOW!"

Harry was on all fours again on Snape's office floor. Hawk twitched, unnerved; the voice that had just burst out from Harry's lungs had been triumphant.

"What happened then, Potter?" Snape asked, eyeing Harry intently.

"I saw – I remembered," Harry panted. "I've just realised…"

Hawk stared at Harry's face, trying to discern what was on his mind. Harry looked gleeful, as though he had just figured out a maths problem that had been evading him for weeks. Harry looked up at Snape.

"What's in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked suddenly.

"What did you say?" Snape asked quietly. He looked nervous, and he was gripping his wand tightly.

"I said, what's in the Department of Mysteries, _sir_," Harry said, stressing out the last word.

"And why," said Snape slowly, "would you ask me such a thing?"

"Because," said Harry, green eyes flashing, "that corridor I've just seen – I've been dreaming about it for months – I've just recognised it – it leads to the Department of Mysteries… and I think Voldemort want something from it."

_What's he been dreaming about?_ Hawk wondered. _I better get Dove to check on this._

Snape and Harry glared at each other. Snape looked agitated; but when he spoke again he sounded as though he was trying to appear cool and unconcerned.

"There are many things in the Department of Mysteries, Potter, a few of which you would understand and none of which concern you. Do I make myself plain?"

"Yes," said Harry. He was rubbing his scar, frowning at the pain.

"I want you back here same time on Wednesday. We will continue work then."

"Fine," said Harry. He was desperate to get out of Snape's office and find Ron and Hermione.

"You are to rid your mind of all emotion every night before you sleep; empty it, make it blank and calm, you understand?"

"Yes," said Harry, who was barely listening. Hawk shifted restlessly.

"And be warned, Potter… I shall know if you have not practised…"

"Right," Harry mumbled. He picked up his schoolbag and left, Hawk tailing him silently.

He found Ron and Hermione in the library, where they were working on Umbridge's most recent pile of homework. Hawk went to the only other empty table and activated his radio.

_"Come in Fox, Dove and Stag,"_ Hawk said. _"Come to the library ASAP. I have information, and lots of it."_

The shinobi arrived separately, entering the library gracefully, glancing around and then setting straight towards where Hawk sat.

_"What's up?"_Fox asked, sitting down at the table, _"Why only us?"_

_"I figured I needed the captain, the mind reader and the genius,"_ Hawk said. _"After this little meeting, we can tell the others separately."_

Hawk then repeated all the information he had reaped in Snape's office. Once he had finished, a thoughtful silence ensured.

_"So the Orochimaru mini-me has an ability to delve into someone's mind?"_ Fox said. _"That's kind of like Dove's ability."_

_"And now Voldemort knows about the connection between him and Potter-san,"_ Stag said, glancing over to where Harry, Ron and Hermione sat around their table, discussing something in low, serious tones. _"Troublesome. Potter-san really _will_ have to close his mind, because know we know that Voldemort can get into Potter-san's mind and plant false information."_

_"That's why he is learning Occlumency,"_ Dove said.

_"Yes, but it seems very hard, judging from Hawk's report,"_ Fox said. Hawk suddenly remembered something.

_"Dove, I want you to go into Potter-san's mind,"_ Hawk said.

_"Huh? Why?" _Dove asked.

_"It seems as though he has been having the same dream over and over again, something about him standing outside a door in the Department of Mysteries,"_ Hawk explained.

_"Alrighty then,"_ Dove said. _"Now?"_

_"Sure, why not?"_ Fox said. Dove twisted around in her seat, made the appropriate hand signs and dived into Harry's mind. No one but the ninja noticed, as the other students were too engaged in their own activities.

Hawk watched as Dove's eyes unfocused for a minute or so, and Stag caught her body as she slumped forwards. Harry, who had been sitting behind them, suddenly became very still. Then, Dove resurfaced.

_"It's a vision,"_ Dove told them. _"Potter-san keeps dreaming that he is walking along a corridor in the Ministry of Magic, and he is always stopping in front of a door that leads into the Department of Mysteries. He's had the same dream over and over again, but the door's never opened."_

* * *

><p>Maniacal laughter was ringing in his ears… he was happier than he had been in a very long time… jubilant; ecstatic; triumphant… a wonderful, wonderful thing had happened.<p>

"Harry? Harry!"

Someone had hit him around the face. The insane laughter was punctuated with a cry of pain. The happiness was draining out of him, but the laughter continued.

He opened his eyes, and realised that he was the one laughing. Harry realised that he was on the ground, staring at the ceiling, but Ron's and Fox's faced staring at him.

"What happened?" Fox asked quietly.

"I… dunno…" Harry gasped, sitting up again. "He's really happy… really happy…"

"You-Know-Who is?"

"Something good's happened," mumbled Harry. He was shaking as badly as he had done after seeing the snake attack Mr Weasley and he felt very sick. "Something he's been hoping for."

As Harry climbed back to bed, he wondered, with a feeling of great trepidation, what had happened to make Lord Voldemort the happiest he had been in fourteen years.

* * *

><p><em>MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN <em>

_MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT'_

_FOR OLD DEATH EATERS_

_The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban._

_Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals._

"_We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggest outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."_

"There you are, Harry," said Ron, looking awestruck. "That's why he was happy last night." They were at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast the morning after Harry's I-have-just-felt-Voldemort's-emotions episode.

"Wait, there's more," Hermione said, turning to page two. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the picture. "Who are these people?"

Harry peered over at the photograph and raised an eyebrow.

_ALLIES OF HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_

_It has been confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has gained another number of followers. _

_It is uncertain who these people are, but they can be identified as individuals wearing black cloaks with red cloud patterns on them and some are seen wearing strange headbands with metal plates with a line through them._

_Not much is known about this organization, but rumours say that they call themselves the 'Akatsuki'._

_It is clear that they have allied themselves with You-Know-Who, as, before they could disappear, someone questioned them on where their loyalties lie. The witnesses all claimed that when they were answered back, these 'Akatsuki' people said "Vol**mort"._ (2)

_It may be a fact that these people are merely trying to scare civilians. They have not yet produced a wand or any type of magical tool. They have not produced any casualties yet, and though they have done some strange, unexplained magic, such as disappearing in a cloud of smoke, it is highly likely that they have used the Confusing Charm and/or the Hallucination Spell._

_Also, when asked if You-Know-Who is really back, they simply shrugged and did not say a word._

_To all wizards and witches; though these 'Akatsuki' people claim to have allied themselves with You-Know-Who, there is no proof that they actually have, and due to their lack of response when questioned the whereabouts of the Dark Lord, it is also clear that He Who Must Not Be Named has not revived. _

Beneath the article were a few individual pictures, all of different people, but they had one thing in common, the same black cloaks with red clouds on it, and the same cold, blank eyes.

"You-Know-Who's got some more followers," Ron said quietly, "another reason why he was probably happy last night."

"Hey, _onna_," said a bored voice behind them. They all turned to see Stag looking down on them.

"_Onna_?" Hermione asked curiously. "What does that mean?"

"It means 'woman'," Stag said. "This is so troublesome. Can I just read the paper?"

"Well, aren't you rude," Hermione said waspishly. Stag sighed.

"Whatever, I'll just get it off someone else. Thanks for nothing, troublesome _onna_."

Hermione gritted her teeth at Stag, and then turned back to the newspaper with a huff. After sharing amused glances, Harry and Ron joined her.

"Shit," whispered a voice. Harry yelped and twisted around, coming face to face with the mask of Fox. Fox grabbed the newspaper and scanned the article quickly, ignoring Hermione's indignant expression.

"Fox! Have you seen the article?" Dragon said, hurrying towards them. Fox whirled around to face the weapons mistress, and the _Daily Prophet_ crumpled in his hands.

"Hell yeah," he hissed. "Call an emergency meeting, now!"

Fox body-flickered away, leaving three very curious teenagers.

"What do you think is wrong?" Hermione asked. Ron shrugged.

"They seemed really worried when they saw that article," Ron said. "Maybe they know them."

"More ninja?" Harry suggested. Hermione was frowning, her eyes still trailing after the long-gone Fox.

"I'll be right back," she said, almost sprinting out of the Great Hall.

"Wonder what's up with her," Ron said. Harry shook his head, not knowing either.

* * *

><p>"It shouldn't be a surprise," Stag said lazily, watching his captain pace around. All the students were in classes, and though there should have been a guard, Fox had said this meeting was more important; he had made clones. The library was empty apart from Madam Pince, though she was busy doing some paperwork in her office, which was at the other end of the library.<p>

"We knew that the Akatsuki had teamed up with Voldemort," Wolf said.

"I know," Fox said, "but why? The Akatsuki are a relatively independent group. They do not ally themselves with others very easily."

"Well, obviously there is some gain for them," Slug said. "But it could be the fact that it just makes their job simpler."

"Yeah. Voldemort wants Potter-san, the Akatsuki wants you. And you're guarding Potter-san," Dragon said. "That means that you two are quite close. They could kill two birds with two stones tied together to create a huge missile."

"Dragon… that doesn't really make sense," Hawk said, raising an eyebrow. Dragon rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, little Mr-Perfect-Grammar," she said. "But Slug's right, maybe this just makes their job easier."

"But that still doesn't cover the reason why they're taking so long to act," Raccoon said.

"Maybe they have some really big plan," Dove said, "a plan that takes a while to form."

"So with this article, it means that all of the remaining Akatsuki are in the magical dimension," Wolf sighed. "That includes Madara, Zetsu, Itachi, Kisame, Deidara and Sasori."

"Sasori is still on the ninja continent," Cat said. "He's not in the wizarding world yet."

"Still, that's a big load," Raccoon said quietly. "It'll take time to filter them all out."

"If we can," Cat said. "We have a boy and an entire school to protect, remember?"

"And the witches and wizards aren't trained for battling ninja," Stag said. "Their bodies are incapable. They have too slow reflexes and they also have massive weaknesses."

"Yeah," Slug said heavily, "their compassion."

"They are too soft-hearted," Raccoon agreed. "They can't stand the sight of a whimpering villain begging for mercy, even if he is bluffing."

"Apart from Voldemort and his followers," Dragon said darkly.

"Of course," Hawk said. "He's supposed to be the wizarding world's most evil of wizards."

"So… do we have any tactics?" Wolf asked.

"Not much," Stag said.

"We can't really prepare any more than we already have," Dove said. "We just have to watch our backs from now on."

"I wonder what Sasori is doing alone on the ninja continent, though," Fox said. "It's kinda odd, isn't it? The Akatsuki normally travel in pairs."

"It is odd," Slug said. "But right now, a lot of things are."

* * *

><p>The fact that Hagrid was now on probation become common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but to Harry's indignation, hardly anybody seemed to be upset about it.<p>

There was only one topic of conversation among the corridors now: the ten escaped Death Eaters. Rumours were flying that some of the convicts had been spotted in Hogsmeade, that they were supposed to be hiding out in the Shrieking Shack and that they were going to break into Hogwarts, just as Sirius Black had once done. The Akatsuki, however, did not seem to spark people's attention, until the night Fox had announced that they were extremely dangerous rogue ninja. Then the rumours, as they did with the escaped Death Eaters, began to circulate.

The school seemed to be a tense place. It was not only the students' moods which had changed; the teachers seemed uptight as well.

It was now quite common to come across two or three professors conversing in low, urgent whispers in the corridors, breaking off once students approached. The teachers weren't the only ones who had private, muttered conversations though. The ninja were seen quite a few times sounding deadly serious, but then dispersing once people approached. The fact that even the elite guards of Hogwarts were nervous made the students fearful as well. Overall, Hogwarts had become a place whose atmosphere was filled with mutual unease and restlessness.

"The teachers obviously can't talk freely in the staff room anymore," said Hermione in a low voice, as she, Harry ad Ron passed Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout huddled together outside the Charms classroom once day.

"Reckon they know anything new?" said Ron, gazing back over his shoulder at the three teachers,.

"If they do, we're not going to hear about it, are we?" said Harry angrily. "Not after Decree…. what number are we on now?" For new notices had appeared on the house notice boards the morning after news of the Azkaban breakout:

_BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS_

_Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information _

_that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree_

_Number Twenty-six_

_Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

Meanwhile, the DA meetings were going extremely well. Neville had improved beyond recognition, and Harry was quite proud of that fact. Though Neville barely spoke during the DA meetings, he worked relentlessly on every new jinx and counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and ended up working harder than anyone else.

The self defence classes taught by the ninja were also good. The students now had boosted up their stamina, and they could do five laps around the lake with ease. They had learned how to punch, block and kick. In their next lesson, they were going to be taught some new moves.

During Occlumency, however, Harry was not improving at all. On the contrary, Harry felt as though he was getting worse with every lesson.

Before he had started learning Occlumency, his scar had prickled occasionally, usually during the night, or else following one of those strange flashes of Voldemort's thoughts or mood that he experienced every now and then. Nowadays, however, his scar hardly ever stopped prickling, and he often felt lurches of annoyance or cheerfulness that were unrelated to what was happening to him at the time, which were always accompanied by a particularly painful twinge from his scar. What was more, he was now dreaming about walking down the corridor almost every night, dreams which always culminated in him standing longingly in front of the plain black door.

* * *

><p>"Kai," Cat said quietly. The wooden bird that held the scroll sent to her opened its beak and the scroll itself dropped down onto the table. The seal on the scroll glowed once, and then faded away.<p>

_Cat,_

_I know it has been months since my last letter to you, but I wanted to inform you about the current state of Hanabi (3). She has been in and out of hospital for a while now, but in two weeks there will be a medicine available that will cure her sickness. Apparently, it is very rare, but completely treatable. _

_Hanabi sends her luck to you on your mission._

_Hyuuga Hiashi_

* * *

><p>Raccoon and Slug were doing their rounds of the castle that night when Raccoon had spotted something suspicious outside on the grounds. It was a guttering light that flashed every once in a while among the trees of the Forbidden Forest. Silently, he nudged the pink-haired kunoichi and jerked his head towards it.<p>

"Let's check it out," Slug said. They body flickered out of the castle and towards light. The stars glimmered overhead, the moon shone brightly down upon them. Neither of them noticed the calm scenery.

"Be careful," Raccoon whispered. "It could be a trap of some sort."

"I know," Slug said. They stopped about one hundred metres away, and they both tried to make out what the flickering light was. It wasn't really a flickering light, but more like a silver flash.

"What do you think it is?" Slug asked. "I can't really see anything." Raccoon suddenly tensed, and his breath hitched in his throat.

"Blood," he said, so softly that Slug had to strain her ears to hear him. "It stinks of blood." Slug sniffed the air, not smelling anything, but then the wind blew in her direction, caressing her pink locks. And she smelled the metallic scent of blood, a smell so familiar to her. She narrowed her eyes as the pair of them moved closer.

_Is that what I think it is?_ Slug thought. _Crap, it is…_

Raccoon and Slug both halted in shock as they stared at what was in front of them.

"Disgusting," Raccoon said quietly.

The lifeless body of a ninja dangled helplessly from the branches of the tree nearest to them. He had been cut so many times that it looked as though his entire body were made out of long, thin red slices. His throat had been chewed to ribbons by some type of wild animal. The thing that had attracted the ninja's attention was his metal headband, which caught the light from the castle windows, and the mark engraved on it showed that he was a shinobi from Sound.

"Why is a Sound ninja here?" Slug wondered. She tapped her radio, but to her frustration it merely crackled and then went silent. She then quickly made a few hand signs, and in a _poof_ of white smoke, a sparrow appeared.

_"Mika,"_ Slug said. _"Please go up to the Gryffindor tower and tell Fox that we have a problem down at the Forbidden Forest. A Sound ninja has been found hanging from a tree and he looks as if he was murdered."_

Mika ruffled her feathers and chirped a cheerful, _"Hai, Slug-sama!"_ and departed, glancing over at the dead body as though it was some kind of interesting flower.

"Good," hissed a voice in the darkness. Raccoon and Slug immediately jumped away, "very good. You fell for it."

"Who's there?" Raccoon asked, though he recognised the voice. His sand slithered in front of him, protecting both him and Slug, who had pulled out a kunai and a few shuriken.

Orochimaru's snake-like face loomed creepily out of the darkness. Slug frowned, clutching her weapons harder. How had she not sensed him here?

"Gaara-kun, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru said almost lovingly. Paedophile…

"What do you want?" Slug hissed. She prayed that Mika would deliver the message quickly. Fox and the others should have sensed an enemy chakra out here already.

"Gaara-kun, what are you doing so far away from home?" Orochimaru grinned. His outrageously long tongue lolled out of his mouth and he licked his lips. "And why are you allying yourself with Konoha? Doing a joint mission with them… how low has Suna fallen?"

"You have never taken interest in Suna," Raccoon said calmly, "so don't start pretending now." Orochimaru sighed longingly and turned to the kunoichi.

"Sakura-chan," Orochimaru said. "How is my little Sasuke-kun?"

Sand winded silently along the ground towards Orochimaru's feet. The Snake Sannin didn't notice.

"He's fine, thank you very much," Slug said coldly. She did not look at the sand, knowing that if she did then she would give Raccoon's plan away.

"Now what the hell do you want?" Raccoon asked. He was still guiding his sand towards Orochimaru's feet. Orochimaru shrugged, looking carelessly bored.

"I had orders to capture you," Orochimaru said. "Any of you shinobi would have sufficed, but I managed to snare two. How lucky am I. But since I cannot handle the both of you… I guess I'll just take one."

Raccoon clenched his fist together, and the sand that had snaked around Orochimaru's legs crushed them. Slug noticed Raccoon's eyes widened, and realised too late that the Orochimaru in front of them was a clone, which then promptly disappeared in a _poof_ of smoke.

_Shit,_ Slug thought, scanning the area. _Where is that bastard?_

She pumped chakra into her fist, readying herself to attack.

"You're looking in the wrong direction," Orochimaru whispered. Slug's head whipped around, and she came face to face with yellow, cat-like eyes and bared teeth.

"Slug!" Raccoon hissed. His sand streaked over towards her, but it merely crashed into Orochimaru's arm. He clasped a cold, pale hand on her shoulder, and Slug pulled back her fist to punch him.

"We will give her and the brat back in one week," Orochimaru said. He gave a little, infuriating wave and disappeared, Slug along with him.

_Brat? What brat?_ Raccoon thought. He darted over to where his comrade last stood, inspecting the grounds for any trace of his missing friend. He was shocked; the capture had been quick. Much too quick.

"Shit," Raccoon muttered, trying not to panic. "Shit, shit, shit."

* * *

><p><strong>Muhwahaha! Finally! I get to do a cliff hanger! You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do a cliff hanger!<strong>

**(1) Natsu from Fairy Tail has severe motion sickness. I just thought I'd make Naruto have slight motion sickness as well XD**

**(2) I don't know how they would write it if an article was quoting someone and that person that they were quoting from said Voldemort's name, so I just treated it like a swear-word in our society. I put in two asterisks: _Vol**mort_**

**(3) This little problem was introduced in Chapter Four, but I completely forgot about it. It found it when I was re-reading Chapter Four after a reviewer sent me a review asking the state of Hanabi, and I thought, '_What's wrong with Hanabi?'_ so I went and checked. It really doesn't have anything to do with the plot. I just stuck it there on whim.**

**Yeah... about the paedophile comment. That was just to break the ice there XD**

**I know that the students haven't had much spotlight, but I'll be focusing on them in the next chapter .**

**I'm also sorry about the Occlumency session. I know that the flow of it was jerky and disconnected. My deepest apologies.**

**Oh my god it has finally hit me that Harry Potter has finished. No more books, no more movies, all finished. I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 a few weeks ago, and at the end, I was like, "It's the end…" Before I watched it, I was all, "Oh, HP has finished," *shrug* and now I'm all, "NOOOO HARRY POTTER HAS FINISHED!" It makes me really melancholy. But it is rumoured that J.K Rowling is writing another little story about James and Lily Potter. RUMOURED. I don't know for sure. **

**Urgh… I just found out that I have seasickness as well after riding a boat to the Great Barrier Reef when there was heaps of wind D:**

**I swear my Author's Notes are getting longer. Geez, I just ramble on about things. Here I go rambling off again. I'm gonna go now.**

**Wait! One more thing (you guys are probably going, "OMG WHAT NOW? THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH! I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE SEASICKNESS OR IF YOU WATCHED 'BOY IN STRIPED PJ'S' AND CRIED YOUR HEART OUT!"**

**Yes, well, I need help with this. It's for the current summary of my fic. **

'**Cold and apathetic, they WERE the perfect guards. They TOOK their job seriously and DID it ruthlessly, but when nine ANBU enter the world of magic, will the wizards view them as cold-blooded killers, or will they look underneath the underneath?'**

**I don't know about the different tenses of this. Should it really be:**

'**Cold and apathetic, they ARE the perfect guards. They TAKE their job seriously and DO it ruthlessly, but when nine ANBU enter the world of magic blah blah blah'? **

**Please help me… *goes all dramatic* I'm a writer in need! A writer in need is a writer indeed! (Or something like that…)**

***Talking hurriedly because she's afraid people might start throwing stuff at her* I promise that future Author's Notes will not be this long. Yes. I'm really going now. Bye!**


	12. Experimenting

**YOU GUYS BETTER READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**It seems as though some people are confused because they're not reading the Author's Notes T.T *sigh* I know that sometimes my Author's Notes are silly and filled with nonsense, but it does contain some important information... then again, the people who don't read Author's Notes probably won't read this either.**

**Alright, let me restate this: Orochimaru is part of the story, as is Kabuto. They are not part of Akatsuki, though. Reasons for this will be explored in this chapter. Orochimaru is not dead and Kabuto has not absorbed him. The Akatsuki members in this story is non-canon, meaning that Zetsu and Madara ARE NOT the only members alive. Deidara, Sasori, Kisame and Itachi are also alive.**

**And for the love of god, this is to the people who commented about Sakura in the last chapter. I am NOT trying to make her Mary Sue. I am NOT trying to make her seem weak. I am NOT trying to make her look like a helpless little girl character. Got it? I just needed someone to get captured, and I simply chose Sakura because I FREAKING FELT LIKE IT. Sakura/Slug did not put up much of a fight when Orochimaru kidnapped her because if I made the fight long and drawn-out, then Fox and the others would have time to catch up to Gaara/Raccoon and Sakura/Slug and help them, and I couldn't have that, because I needed SOMEONE to get captured, alright? Sakura just HAPPENED to be the character I chose to get kidnapped. NOT because I want to make her a Mary Sue. NOT because I'm trying to make her seem weak. NOT because I'm trying to make her look like a helpless little girl. **

**I am annoyed? Yes. I am. I promised in the last chapter that my Author's Notes will not be as long again, but it looks as if I have broken that promise.**

**But admittedly, the last chapter _was_ the most reviewed one, even more than the chapter before it. I had thirty seven reviewers, and they are: TKB17, DreamingOfSerenity, ladyyuuki16, Insomniac, BloodKitsune11, SasuHina4evr, MadnessLover, Dimensional Roamer, Phr33k, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, The Shadow Moon, an anyonymous reviewer, furuba-suzume, heh, FailofEpicProportions (I don't know about this reviewer, though T^T), nightliliesu, Kyuubi No Tenshi, The Last Rising Of The Phoenix, ThePurpleSuperCow, SBPretzels, Furionknight, Namikaze Soul, Owliness, goldenqueenofthecove, WinxPossible, a Fox named Rose, Blue Hoshi, Jadesilkmoon, EgyLynx, Penisland15, Rinfan595, Scarlett Winds, WeAllFlyHigh, another anonymous reviewer, evil-sensei iruka and Pikachu-dono**

**Is that everyone?**

**People seemed to like my 'paedophile' comment as well...**

**Chapter Twelve: Experimenting **

* * *

><p><strong><em>~ COLINES COBUILD ~<em>**

**_~ ENGLISH LANGUAGE DICTIONARY ~_**

**_Definition of 'regret'_**

**_1. If you regret something that has happened or something that you have done,_**

**_you feel sorry and wish that you had not done it or that it had not happened._**

How he hated that word. He hated it so very, very much. Because it was exactly how he was feeling now.

Regret.

He hated it.

Regret filled him. Filled his heart… filled his soul… filled his core. It was a dark, stinking thing.

He should have pushed her out of the way. He should have yelled at her to move. He should have done _something._ Not just stand there, his mouth opening like an idiot just as Orochimaru grabbed her. Why didn't he do anything?

How pathetic he was.

* * *

><p>"Why didn't you get here sooner?" Raccoon asked quietly. "What the hell took you so long?"<p>

Raccoon stood rigidly and watched his captain with unblinking jade-green eyes. He was calm. He was controlled. He was collected. He was also seething with rage. And regret.

"I'm sorry," Fox said. "I got caught up with a few misbehaving students."

"Students? At _midnight_?" Disbelief was evident in his tone.

"Yes. They were Gryffindor first years. Kept on sneaking down to the common room for some reason…"

The entire ANBU team was present apart from Hawk, and they were currently in a nearby empty classroom. It was about fifteen minutes after Slug was taken.

"I'm sorry," Fox said softly. Raccoon took a deep breath… and let it out.

"So who took Slug?" Stag asked. He was leaning against the wall, his arms folded, one leg slightly bent.

"Orochimaru," Raccoon said. He then recounted the whole story, starting from the point where he saw the dull flash of light in the Forbidden Forest.

"And he said that he would return Slug and a brat in one week before disappearing," Raccoon finished.

"So it was a trap," Wolf sighed. He was leaning against Akamaru, slitted eyes glaring through the holes of his mask.

"Orochimaru came out of nowhere," Raccoon said. "He said that he only needed one of us."

"Ransom?" Dove suggested. "They may want a trade." Stag shook his head.

"If they wanted a trade then Orochimaru would have told Raccoon before he left," Stag said. His dark eyes were not happy, but then again, none of them were. They were all uncomfortable with the fact that their primary medic ninja was gone, and that she had been snatched away so easily.

"Maybe they want to get information out of her," Dragon said. She ran a hand through her loose brown hair, which had been released from its signature buns for the night. She had just been getting ready to sleep when the message came through.

"Who? The Akatsuki?" Wolf scoffed. "They have all the information they need. They know that Fox has the Kyuubi. They know he's here."

"We have a problem," Hawk said quietly, appearing in the doorway. "A Slytherin second year boy is missing."

"What?" Fox said, eyes widening. "When did he disappear?"

"I was getting ready to leave when I heard a movement up in his dorm, I went up. When I got there, Madara was holding the boy by his legs. He then disappeared by, you know, how he kind of just swirls away?" Hawk said. Fox clenched his fist.

"Argh!" Fox snarled. "Great, how are we supposed to explain this to Dumbledore-san? This is one of his students we're talking about; he cares about them more than anything else."

Hawk shifted and cast his eyes downward.

"Why do the Akatsuki want Slug and a kid?" Dove sighed.

"Voldemort," Cat said softly. "Voldemort wants Potter-san, right? Maybe they captured Slug for information on him."

"They'll probably use torture or something," Stag said, "troublesome. But that doesn't explain why the kid was kidnapped as well."

"We've been trained to withstand most kinds of torture," Dove objected.

"_But _the Akatsuki have allied themselves with Voldemort," Dragon said. "We don't know what that wizard can do. We're not completely immune to magic spells, you know."

"No, we're not," Hawk said. "We can sidestep them, and the spells that the students practice here probably will affect us, though to a much lesser degree than normal wizards. Some of the weaker ones will not affect us at all. But Voldemort and his minions are much stronger than school kids, and but I am sure that though their spells may not work on us to their fullest extent, we will still receive some type of damage…"

The ninja were silent with this newfound revelation. Fox was frowning and clenching his hands together.

"Yes, what Hawk says is true," Cat said. "We have been observing with our Byakugan. Our bodies may be built slightly differently, but spells will still affect us."

"Does magic look any different to chakra?" Raccoon asked.

"Well, we all have different chakra signatures," Hawk said, "but with magic it all looks the same. All the wizards and witches have the same white light surrounding their bodies, as well as a white light in the centre of their body which I assume is their magical core."

"Thanks for that information, but right now, can we get back to the topic at hand?" Fox said impatiently. "Slug and a Slytherin second year boy have been captured, and we don't know why. The Akatsuki have allied themselves with the snake bastard. We don't even know why they need Slug or the kid."

"It could be just so they could weaken our forces," Wolf muttered.

"But then, if they wanted to do that, then they would have just killed Raccoon and Slug on the spot," Stag said. Raccoon shifted slightly when his name was said, but did not utter a word.

"Okay, well, we're going to have to tell Dumbledore-san," Dove said. "He's our client, after all."

"What is the boy's name?" Raccoon asked.

"Jason Fleance (1)," Hawk said blankly.

"But we have to ask ourselves something," Stag drawled. Everyone quieted down to listen to the master strategist and genius. "We know for sure that the Akatsuki have entered the wizarding dimension, but we don't know how. We don't know how they got here, and we don't know how that Sound ninja got here. Voldemort has probably never heard of the Akatsuki before, and I doubt any other wizard has either. No one could have created a Portkey for them to get across without actually _going_ to the Ninja Continent first to give it to them. And the Akatsuki have been crossing from the Ninja Continent into the wizarding dimension individually. Why and how? Why are they going one by one? Did Voldemort create enough Portkeys _for _them to go one by one? And if he did, how did he do it?

"There are too many strange questions right now, and I am pretty sure Dumbledore-san knows the answers."

* * *

><p>Fox stood in front of Dumbledore, alone. His team had been sent to do various other jobs. The headmaster's eyes were closed, and the ANBU captain could feel fury radiating from the old body. When Dumbledore opened his eyes again, the startling blue was filled with a coldness unlike any Fox had ever seen before. Nevertheless, Fox was not moved.<p>

"Very well," Dumbledore said. His voice was hard. "And are you sure you have no idea whatsoever regarding the capture of Slug or Mr Fleance?"

The twinkle that was normally in Dumbledore's eyes was gone, and he wasn't smiling either. He had taken the capture of one of his students quite seriously.

"Well, we have a few theories," Fox said emotionlessly, "but we're not quite sure yet."

"I trusted you and your team with the task of protecting my students," Dumbledore said. "You have failed me." He was so very angry, but still, Fox looked at him calmly. He did not apologise; he knew that was not what Dumbledore wanted. He wanted his student back.

"You will be sending out a rescue party, won't you?" Dumbledore asked. Fox shook his head.

"Orochimaru said he'll send them back in one week. If they're not back by that time, _then_ we'll send out search parties." Fox could see Dumbledore restraining the urge to slam his fist down on the table.

"Once Mr Fleance is back," Dumbledore said slowly. "I may consider dismissing you and your team from my service." Fox started feeling hot tendrils of anger claw at his belly. He was not angry at the threat Dumbledore had made, but rather what Dumbledore was forgetting. When Fox next spoke, his voice was similarly as icy as Dumbledore's, perhaps more.

"Slug was captured as well," Fox said, his voice steely, his eyes furious. "She is one of our own. Don't even think that we're not worried as well. If you do, then you are sorely mistaken." Dumbledore stared at him for a second, and the two sets of blue eyes met each other, both equally cold, both equally angry. Then, Dumbledore suddenly sighed.

"Yes," Dumbledore murmured. "She is your teammate. I'm sorry, I forgot. I know that you are also distressed by her kidnap. Please forgive me; I was just overcome by my worry for Mr Fleance." Fox regarded the headmaster for a moment, and his expression softened.

"You are forgiven," Fox said softly. "I am sorry too, for what has happened tonight." Dumbledore nodded his head, and Fox took that as his cue to leave. He bowed and body flickered out of the office.

_Geez, Sakura,_ Fox thought glumly as he drew away from the stone gargoyle that stood in front of Dumbledore's office. _Why the hell did you let yourself get captured so easily?_

He then realised that he had forgotten to ask Dumbledore about the Akatsuki and how they were getting across to the wizarding dimension, but then he dismissed it from his thoughts. He could ask the headmaster later.

Fox ambled moodily from corridor to corridor. It was still dark, so all the students were in bed. None of the kids had been alerted to the fact that one of their guards were missing; it would only cause alarm and panic. It was about one in the morning; the air was chilly.

Fox spotted Gaara sitting on a window sill and staring up at the moon. His mask was off, dangling limply in his right hand. On his face was a serene sort of expression, but Fox knew him well enough to know that Gaara was extremely worried about the pink-haired kunoichi. His gourd, normally slung around his back, lay resting on the wall next to him.

"Hey," Fox said quietly, putting a hand on Gaara's shoulder. He removed his mask too, and glanced out the window into the starlit night. At first, Gaara made no acknowledgement that Naruto was there, but then he sighed softly and turned to look at his captain.

"I'm worried," Gaara said quietly. "We don't know what the Akatsuki or Voldemort wants with her."

"I'm sorry," Naruto said again. "I'm sorry I took so long to get there."

Gaara glanced up at the blonde's face, and saw that Naruto was upset as well, though he had hidden it before. Sakura had been Naruto's teammate for years, and when they became ANBU they had even been on the same squad.

"I know," Gaara said simply, "I'm not angry at you anymore. It wasn't really your fault anyway. I was just too weak to take her back…"

"You have such negative thinking," Naruto said, the usual smile spreading across his face. "If you're too weak now, then get stronger."

"And you're always so straightforward," Gaara said, rolling his eyes, but his lips were graced by a faint smile. His armour glimmered dimly in the light, and he ran a hand through his blood-red hair.

"Now what?" Gaara asked. "What do we do now?"

"No plans," Naruto said, his face turning mask-like, "we can't risk her life or the kid's. Orochimaru said one week and she'll be back. I guess all we have to do is wait." Gaara stared at the blonde for a second or two.

"Naruto," Gaara said, "what if he was lying? What if he only said that so we wouldn't go pounding over to wherever they are and disturbing them?"

"I know," Naruto said softly, "I'm not that stupid. Give me some credit here!"

Gaara scoffed and said, "Naruto, if I gave you any more credit your ego would overflow and burst."

Naruto smiled thinly at him, and gave Gaara's head a friendly punch, as if he was his brother. In a way, he was.

The Sound ninja's body had been removed and disposed of after they had taken it down. They did not bother with an autopsy, knowing full well that they did not have the necessary equipment.

* * *

><p>Oddly enough, it was actually quite lonely in the Ravenclaw common room. Dragon sat silently on one of the armchairs near the fire, and she stared blankly into the flames. Slug had been a constant companion, a reliever of the tedious nights spent guarding or watching over misbehaving students.<p>

She breathed a quiet sigh, unheard over the roaring of the fire in front of her. Her eyes travelled over to the window almost mournfully.

_Argh! What am I doing? _Dragon thought to herself. _Sakura can take care of herself. She's ANBU. She's not going to get killed so easily! I shouldn't be sitting here looking like she died or something! Sakura will be fine._

She continued to reassure herself of that fact for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>Harry paced in front of the DA members, who stared up at him with a kind of muted respect.<p>

"We're going to be learning the Trip Jinx today," Harry said. "It's really quite useful. As you can probably guess, it trips people."

Dove and Wolf were attending the DA lesson today. They both stood in the corner, watching with blank eyes as Harry separated them into pairs and the magical folk practised the jinx on each other. Neither of them was really paying attention; they were both too worried about their pink-haired teammate.

Soon, the air was full of shouts and yells as the students got their legs swept out from under them, sometimes without warning. As usual, Harry paired up with Neville, who, soon after Hermione, mastered the jinx perfectly. He did not say anything during the practicing, but merely screwed up his face in concentration as he cast the spell over and over again.

"That was excellent, Neville," Harry said, grinning and standing up from the floor. "You're doing really, really well."

Neville beamed at him. "Thanks, Harry."

"Could you pair up with Hermione and Ron, please? I'm just going to go and check up on everyone else," Harry said. Neville nodded. Harry made his rounds, pausing every now and then to comment or to fix up something that his friends were doing wrong.

"You're a good leader, Potter-san," Dove said quietly. Harry stopped and looked at them.

"Thanks," Harry said, a bit taken aback. The ninja did not normally compliment him like that. Was something wrong?

Wolf nodded at him, calling over Akamaru and patted his friend. Harry shook his head and proceeded on.

* * *

><p>Slug opened her eyes blearily and gritted her teeth when she found that her wrists and ankles were chaffed to the point where they had started to bleed. She noticed that her mask was still on, her armour was intact, and on the whole she felt fine apart from her ankles and wrists. She then started to look around, noting where she was and what was present. She did not move her head; only her eyes.<p>

She was in a room, chained to the wall. The room itself was dirty, grimy and windowless, and looked as though it were only made from cold stone. The only source of light was a stuttering candle which was quickly melting away. The air smelled dank and thick. Slug noticed that there was a man standing by the only exit; the door. He was wearing a mask in the shape of a skull and a black cloak. He was a Death Eater. A small lump at her feet shifted, and she found herself looking into the face of a second year boy. She raised her eyebrows, but then turned her attention to other things.

Slug had been trained to not make any movement when she awoke and to breathe evenly and naturally when she did, so the Death Eater hadn't noticed that she was no longer unconscious. Slug studied the room a bit more, and then decided to let the Death Eater know that she was awake.

She gave a fake groan.

As she predicted, the man jumped to attention, glanced at her as she raised her head and glided quickly out the door. She heard him calling, "My Lord! My Lord! The ninja is awake!" before his footsteps came back, echoing dismally in the small space. She strained her ears and heard a low murmur of voices.

The Death Eater returned, and with him came a man, or should she say monster, she knew all too well: Orochimaru. Behind him, a wizard with the face of a snake appeared. Orochimaru and Voldemort looked so much like serpents in their own different way that it was almost freaky. Well, they were freaky from the start.

"Sakura-chan!" Orochimaru said all too delightedly. Slug hissed when he came closer, and he ripped the mask off of her. "Don't want to hide that pretty face of yours, now do we?"

Voldemort, who was standing right behind him, said in a calm voice, "She's quite young, isn't she."

Sakura ignored Voldemort and focused her energy on glaring at Orochimaru with contempt, snarling, "What the hell do you want?"

Orochimaru chuckled, fixing his yellow eyes on her.

"I get bored easily," Orochimaru said, shrugging, "I miss my little experiments. So I decided that I'm going to use you to replace my experiments from the ninja continent."

"So you're not going to try and get information out of me?" Sakura asked, her voice regaining its composure. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"And _why_ would I do that?" Orochimaru said, looked genuinely bemused. "We've already got all the information we need."

Sakura could not stop the streak of relief that ran through her body. She was glad that she did not have to betray her friends, even though she wouldn't have anyway.

"What are you experimenting on?" Sakura asked. Voldemort glanced at her once again before sweeping off. Sakura could tell that he was not pleased; no doubt he was angry that she had not seemed fearful at all in his presence. Well, she was more focused on the Snake Lord in front of her rather than the one behind him.

"Remember, I only wanted the girl to see how she would fare against wizarding spells," Voldemort hissed. "Afterwards, you can kill her."

"I want to try and see what wizarding spells can do on a shinobi's body," Orochimaru said, ignoring the wizard. "It'll be interesting, no?"

"Why did you capture the kid?" Sakura asked, nodding to the Slytherin boy huddled below her. He raised his face miserably when she had talked about him.

"Well, I stole Jason-chan away because I wanted to test how 'weak spells' and 'strong spells' affect ninja," Orochimaru said. "Hogwarts students aren't very strong, so their spell work won't be powerful either. I will experiment with Jason-chan cursing you, and then a Death Eater cursing you to see the difference. Kabuto here will be assisting me."

As if on cue, the grey-haired Sound ninja slipped into the room. He shifted his glasses higher up his nose and smiled at Sakura coldly.

_Ah crap,_ Sakura thought, _I think I'm screwed._

* * *

><p>"Where's Slug?" Harry asked, having finally noticed the absence of the medic ninja. Fox's eyes flickered over to him. It was dinnertime and most people were in the Great Hall. Ron was at Quidditch practice and had not come back yet.<p>

"She's busy," Fox said shortly before turning back to his food. "She's got a separate mission."

"What separate mission?" Hermione asked. She lost interest in her potato mash and turned instead to face the ANBU captain. Fox raised an eyebrow.

"Do you seriously think I'll tell you, brat?" Fox asked. Hermione flushed.

"I was just curious," she murmured, "sorry."

"Fox, stop being a dick," Wolf said, coming over to join them. He faced Harry and Hermione. "Sorry, our captain's just kinda low today."

"Um, is Slug alright?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"She's perfectly fine," said a cool voice. Raccoon slid smoothly into the seat next to Fox. Hermione and Harry exchanged looks but did not say anything. Raccoon did not look at either wizard or witch, but stared moodily at his food until he stood up abruptly. He didn't feel hungry.

"I'm going to the Slytherin common room," Raccoon said, his voice hard. In truth, he did not really want to go back there; it reminded him too much of a certain snake-like ninja, but he didn't want to be in such a crowded place like the Great Hall either.

Fox and Wolf watched him go, their postures indicating that they were tired too. They stood up as well and retreated back to their respective common rooms, not touching their food.

Harry looked over at Hermione, who were staring after the guards.

"Something's wrong," Hermione said in a low voice. "The guards are acting weird."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. All three of the ninja's cold eyes had been filled with concern and worry. Harry even detected a tiny hint of guilt in Raccoon's.

At that moment, Ron entered the Great Hall, looking thoroughly disgruntled. He spotted his friends and made his way over to them.

"Worst practice ever," he moaned. "Angelina was shouting so hard I swear I just became half deaf."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, and the latter rolled her eyes, indicating that they should tell their freckled friend what they had witnessed.

They saw a Slytherin boy hurry over to talk to Hawk, his little face filled with fear. Hawk muttered something to the boy, who returned to the Slytherin table looking down.

* * *

><p>Fudge was ecstatic. He was thrilled. One of the ninja guards had gone missing and a Hogwarts student as well. Oh, how good it was to have a spy in Hogwarts.<p>

"Oh perfect, wonderful," Fudge whispered. Percy Weasley looked up from the corner, his horn-rimmed glasses pushed up his nose.

"Anything wrong, Minister?" he asked. Fudge took not notice of him.

_I have just heard from Umbridge that one of the guards is missing, _Fudge said._ That means that the guard has a low chance of coming back. A Hogwarts student is gone as well. The parents of that child will contact the school and complain. I will go to Hogwarts myself to 'investigate' the matter. I will force Dumbledore to dismiss the ninja from his service because they failed in their duty or whatever. And bingo! The ninja, Dumbledore's trump card to his plan to overthrow me, will be gone, just like that!_

Percy Weasley was staring at the Minister blankly, but Fudge was pacing around frantically, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Fudge may have looked a little maniacal, a little crazy, but right then he didn't care.

"I will be going to Hogwarts tonight," Fudge said, making to grab his coat. Percy blinked rapidly.

"Minister," Percy said pompously. "I'm afraid you can't do that. The Korean Magical Financial Minister is coming tonight, as are other Ministers of the Magical Financial Department. They will be staying here for around six days." Cursing, Fudge put his cloak back on its peg.

_I shouldn't worry, _Fudge thought, _Dolores will get rid of them._

He would send an owl to her to tell her what to do.

* * *

><p>"Don't let your head get too big," Deidara hissed. "It's starting to piss me off, mm."<p>

Orochimaru sent a careless glance at the blonde ninja, and then smirked at him.

"Why, if it isn't the little terrorist bomber," Orochimaru said. They were in the hideout of Voldemort and a few of his Death Eaters. It was an old, abandoned house. Huge and spacey, but it had not been lived in for years. Voldemort and his Death Eaters mainly occupied the bottom floor, while the Akatsuki were on the second. Orochimaru and Kabuto were sharing their space with the Akatsuki as well, though it normally got everyone's nerves. Reason being is that both parties kept finding a way to start an argument. If all three groups (Voldemort and Death Eaters [Group One], the Akatsuki [Group Two] and Orochimaru and Kabuto [Group Three]) were in the same room, it was more than likely that they would all piss each other off in the first five minutes and Orochimaru would be laughing at all of them... if he wasn't offended as well.

"Just because were allied ourselves with you, it doesn't mean you are welcome here, mm," Deidara snarled. Kabuto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The room they were in was merely lit up by stuttering candles, and so the shadows trembled ominously. The moon was hidden behind dark, heavy clouds, signalling that a storm was coming.

"You are such a child," Kabuto said. Deidara's frown deepened.

"Deidara, don't kill him," Itachi muttered from his corner. He turned his eyes towards the blonde. Deidara slowly withdrew the hand that had snuck into the pouch containing his clay.

"Orochimaru, if you have nothing useful to say, keep your mouth shut," Kisame said. He groaned and shifted Samehada onto the floor. "Where the hell is Madara and Zetsu, anyway?"

"They're in a meeting with that annoying bastard, mm," Deidara snapped. By 'annoying bastard' he meant Voldemort.

"I do not trust him," Itachi said. He turned his black eyes towards Orochimaru and Kabuto. "I do not trust you two either."

"Nor do we you," Kabuto said, smiling coldly. "This alliance is merely for our benefit." Itachi rolled his shoulders.

"I was just making that clear," he said.

"Why did you want to ally yourselves with us, anyway?" Itachi asked, his dead voice sounding mildly curious. Orochimaru shrugged.

"It is a good chance to gather more data and material. There is so much to learn about the wizarding world," Orochimaru replied. He brushed his long, dull black hair away from his face and smiled.

"Yes, but you do not need us," Kisame said. "What are your true motives, bastard?"

"Why would I go telling you?" Orochimaru said, turning his yellow eyes over to Kisame mockingly. "I'll only reveal this, though: you want Uzumaki Naruto, and Voldemort wants Potter Harry. I am interested in both of them. I don't wish to make enemies out of you all, so I decided to ask for an alliance."

"You're interested in them?" Deidara said. "The Uzumaki kid I understand, but why Potter?"

"Secret," Orochimaru said. The grip on the scroll he was holding tightened.

"I don't care about Potter, but don't you dare take Uzumaki. He's ours," Kisame said, fixing the Snake Sannin and Kabuto with an expression of mutual dislike.

"Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>Sakura kept her mouth shut. She kept her jaws clenched together. She would not let any sound escape from these lips. She did not want to give Orochimaru the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She did not want to give Orochimaru the pleasure of seeing her face twist in pain. Or Kabuto either, for that matter.<p>

"_Crucio_," Bellatrix Lestrange whispered manically. Sakura felt a white hot kunai running slowly down her body. She felt the kunai heat up till it burned her flesh and then turn freezing cold again. She bit her lip so hard that it drew blood, but still, she did not scream. Orochimaru was standing nearby, taking notes on what he observed like she was some kind of guinea pig. Kabuto was idling twirling a kunai around his finger.

Bellatrix bared her teeth at Sakura, infuriated that the girl wasn't making any noise. Sakura was still tied to the wall, and she had given up tugging on the chains a long time ago. They were strange chains; they could not be broken by strength, no matter how hard she tried.

"Let me hear you scream, little girl," Bellatrix hissed. "_Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!_"

Sakura stared at her blankly while inside her body raged an internal battle: her will against the spell. She was an ANBU. She was part of the elite. This torture was nothing. She could handle this.

"How many daggers do you feel in your body?" Orochimaru asked. Sakura looked over at him, her face impassive.

"One." Why the heck was she answering him?

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said. "Normally you would feel a thousand." Sakura looked back at Bellatrix, and spat in her face.

Bellatrix shrieked and clawed at Sakura's face with her ridiculously long fingernails. It drew blood, but this pain was nothing compared to the curse she had experience only seconds earlier. Her face remained smooth and emotionless, even with the long trails of blood dripping down it.

"Interesting," Orochimaru said. "It seems as though ANBU level ninja are able to handle this. Maybe because of the training they have to go through…?"

He continued to mutter to himself while Bellatrix glared at Sakura, her wild eyes popping slightly.

"Bitch," Sakura whispered. She grinned, knowing that it was enrage the banshee even more. It did.

"Alrighty then," Bellatrix said in a low voice, quivering with hatred. "Let's see how you handle Dementors (2), shall we?"

Bellatrix swept out of the room, leaving Sakura to stare after her, her face blank. But inside she was wondering: _What the hell are Dementors?_

She dimly remembered Lupin saying something about them, but she couldn't really grasp the thought right now. She was too tired, and her whole body hurt. It hurt so much...

* * *

><p><strong>Ending it there.<strong>

**Another cliff hanger T_T**

**(1) We were studying the play _Macbeth_, by William Shakespeare, when I wrote this. Shakespeare may be confusing, but you can't deny that he's got really quote-worthy lines in his plays. I couldn't think of a last name, so I just settled with 'Fleance'. In _Macbeth_, Fleance was Banquo's son. Nobody really knows what happened to him in the end. He was supposed to be king, but he kinda disappeared somewhere.**

**(2) Remember: the Dementors betrayed the Ministry and ran off to join Voldemort.**

**The dictionary definition at the beginning… that was actually from my dictionary, which is currently lying on the floor beside my desk. And yes, it's actually called 'The Colines Cobuild English Language Dictionary'. **

**Okay, does everyone understand now? Does everyone understand why Orochimaru and Kabuto and the Akatsuki members are here in this story?Does everyone get my intentions about Sakura (damn, maybe I should have gotten Shikamaru kidnapped or something. Would people still complain then?)? Hopefully you have, because I don't want to explain it a second, third, fourth time.**

**I'm sorry to the people who DO read my Author's Notes and who DON'T think I'm trying to Mary Sue Sakura. This annoyance was not meant to be directed at you. I suppose I also should have made it clearer in the first place about the Akatsuki T^T**

**Hopefully in the _next_ chapter my Author's Note(s) will not have to be so long.**


	13. Dark Memories

**Guess what, guess what!**

**Ahem *gives a drum roll***

**TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!**

**No, really, it is! I even have it on my profile X3 Should I tell you how old I'm turning? Well, I'm turning _teen! Yeah, I'm still a teenager, and I'm not giving you a specific number, but you know I'm between thirteen and nineteen, ne?**

**Yeah, it's my birthday, so I decided to update. Why? Uh… a birthday present from me to you? And then you have to give back to me by reviewing? Yeah, that sounds like good logic…**

**Chapter Thirteen: Dark Memories**

* * *

><p>Hermione glanced at the still guard, who was sitting by her usual seat next to the window, and then back at Professor Binns. Cat was at the back of the classroom. Her aura was tense and her hands were clenched.<p>

Hermione paused in her note-taking and allowed herself to focus on something other than the lecture the History of Magic teacher was giving.

Hermione was no fool. She knew that something was wrong, and the ninja weren't saying anything about it. Slug was missing, and Hermione could easily put two and two together. Something had happened to the pink-haired kunoichi, and it was something bad. Hermione just had to confirm it.

She sighed silently when she saw her two best friends playing hangman in the corner of Ron's parchment. Truth be told, she really couldn't be bothered telling them off anymore.

The witch resumed taking notes, clearing her mind of all things apart from the lesson about the troll wars.

* * *

><p>Cat stared unseeingly out the window, her pearly eyes focused on nothing. She wanted to save Slug. She missed her friend greatly, but Fox had said not to act at the moment. As he was captain, she was obliged to follow whatever he said, but that didn't stop her from worrying.<p>

_Sakura, I really hope you're not going to die on us,_ Cat thought. _Because if you do, then I'm going to go to the afterlife, drag you back and kill you myself. _

As the class ended, Cat walked out in a state of dazedness, deciding to take to the walls to avoid the traffic below her. The students had seen the shinobi walking in some of the most random of places already, so her sticking to the ceiling was not really a big deal.

"Different hair style today?" Fox had asked softly when she entered the Great Hall. Cat glanced over at her long-time crush and gave him half a smile. She had tied her hair up in a ponytail while she was in History of Magic.

"Yeah," she replied, going over to the Gryffindor table

"Looks nice," Fox said, sitting down with her. Cat curved her lips up wanly. Silence bloomed between the two of them, both of them worrying over the same person.

"This is a mission," Fox said suddenly and quietly, jolting Cat out of her gloomy thoughts, "and we're ANBU. We're not supposed to let our emotions control us. Slug will be fine; she can take care of herself easily. For now, let's just focus on the mission, ne?"

"Yeah," Cat said again, though this time she gave him a genuine smile.

"So there _is_ something wrong," said a sudden voice. Fox and Cat looked over and saw Harry, Ron and Hermione staring at them with great intensity.

"What's happened to Slug?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing has happened to her," Fox said coldly. "Mind your own business." With that, Fox stood up and left the table.

_Now he's in a bad mood,_ Cat though desolately. She turned back to find three faces staring at her.

"What now?" Cat asked, a little self-consciously.

"What's happened to Slug?" Ron asked.

"We haven't seen her for ages," Harry added. "Something's wrong."

"She's on a separate mission," Cat said sharply, "everything is fine."

"You guys sounded like you were worrying over her, like she's in some kind of mortal danger," Hermione said thoughtfully, as though she was analysing the conversation that she just heard, which she probably was.

"It's normal to worry about your comrades, isn't it?" Cat said with more force than she intended, finally having enough. She stood up as well and went off to the Hufflepuff common room.

She rubbed her head absent-mindedly, noting without thought that her temples were starting to hurt.

_It's all this magic in the air,_ Cat thought. _The magic here is way too bright; it's like looking at a light bulb for too long._

* * *

><p>Sakura was kept waiting a long time for Bellatrix to return. Once or twice, Uchiha Madara entered the little prison-like cell that Sakura was in. He never said anything to her; he just stood in the doorway staring at her for ages, his orange mask hiding his facial expressions. It frightened her quite a lot. Other times, Kisame and Itachi came over to see how she was faring. They never said a word either. All the Akatsuki ignored Jason, who normally lay under her where she was chained to the wall.<p>

"While we wait for Bellatrix-chan, why don't we do some more tests?" Orochimaru asked. He stood up and went over to Jason, prodding him. The Slytherin boy awoke from his fitful slumber, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Jason had never changed out of his pyjamas, considering that he was stolen away during the night. They were grimy, flecks of blood marring them. He had bruises dotting his face and arms, and wounds from kunai cuts had dried blood sticking to them. Sakura was afraid that they would get infected, but she couldn't do anything.

"I want you to cast a Stinging Hex on her," Orochimaru commanded. Jason met Orochimaru's yellow eyes with his own scared, but defiant grey ones.

"But they hurt," Jason said quietly. He touched a scar on his arm, frowning. Orochimaru glared at him.

"Do you want to taste my kunai again?" Orochimaru murmured. Jason stared at the shining grey knife that the Sannin held, scared, but unwilling to harm.

"Fleance-san, just do it," Sakura said. She gazed at him tiredly at him from her position on the wall. "I'll be fine. I'm a ninja, remember?"

Jason glanced at the guard, his mouth set in a stubborn line.

"I don't even know the Stinging Hex," Jason said.

"Liar," Orochimaru sang. "You do know it."

"Fleance-san!" Sakura said. Though her voice was harsh, Jason heard the plea in it. "I'll be fine, just hex me. I don't mind. You don't want to get cut again, do you?"

She may be an ANBU, but her acting all cold and indifferent wouldn't really help matters right now.

Jason looked over at the kunai, and then at Sakura's face. He took a deep, wobbling breath and hexed her.

Sakura clamped her teeth around her tongue. The Stinging Hex caused small red welts to rise up on her arm. It _did_ sting, but it wasn't as bad as she expected.

"Good," Orochimaru said. He then called over another Death Eater who was hovering at the door, commanding him to do the same thing on her other arm. This time, when he hexed her, much larger angry welts appeared, and it was decidedly more painful.

"Interesting," Orochimaru said "the different sizes of the welts in relation to the power behind the spell. But even the welts that appeared after the Death Eater cursed her aren't as big as they would normally be on a wizard."

"I'm sorry," Jason whispered. Sakura let out the breath she was holding, breathing in deeply to ignore the stabbing soreness. She stared at him unblinkingly.

"It doesn't hurt," she said evenly, "I've experienced worse. You don't need to feel bad."

This process continued every day, using different charms, spells, jinxes and hexes on the kunoichi. Every day she did not make a sound, and every day Jason was forced to curse her against his will.

_This is because I'm different,_ Sakura thought, _because ninja are different to wizards. To be different… in this world, it is almost a crime… (1)_

Every once in a while, a Death Eater would come and bring her food. It was always the same: bread and water. It was the typical prison food. The Death Eater would then shovel it into her mouth whether she wanted to eat or not, and then he would force her chin up and drain the water into her mouth. Naturally, Sakura didn't like it. The stale bread was thrown at Jason's feet, and the barrel of water was always half empty due to the carelessness the Death Eater displayed when Charming it to float down the stairs.

She did not know how long she had stayed here. Time made no sense to her at all. Well, she could always ask…

"Orochimaru," Sakura said. Her voice was weak and hoarse; she had not used it for a while. The Snake Sannin, who was sitting in his usual corner, looked up when she said his name and leered at her.

"Yes, my little Sakura-chan?" he hissed.

"How long have I been in here?"

Orochimaru regarded her closely for a few seconds. Then he said, "Why on earth would you want to know that?"

Sakura restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Orochimaru grinned again and shrugged.

"No harm in telling you, I guess. You've been in here for about four days."

_Four days huh…?_ Sakura thought. _That's quite a while. They've tested so many spells on me in that time._

Sakura didn't think about rescue at all. In fact, it had not even passed her dazed mind. She knew that beyond her little cell there was a roomful of dangerous Dark wizards and powerful rogue shinobi. She knew now that wizarding spells could affect ninja, but the damage was on a smaller scale, and prayed that none of her comrades would ever have to experience what she had in the past few days. She had barely gotten any sleep as well, and as a result she was dead tired.

"Just let Fleance-san go," she said wearily. "He has no place here." Orochimaru gave a little laugh, but did not answer her. Instead, he moved forward and started unshackling the chains that bound her wrists and ankles.

"Your physical energy is drained," Orochimaru said, "so you cannot mould chakra properly."

He released her from her chains, and she staggered forwards, almost falling flat on her face. Jason stood up warily. Sakura was breathing heavily; her face was shining with sweat. Her limbs felt so weak and useless after so many days of non movement. She knew she must have looked a mess, but that was the least of her worries now.

"Jason-chan, use a Trip Jinx on her," Orochimaru called. Sakura met Jason's eyes and gave him a little nod. Grimacing, Jason did as he was told.

Sakura immediately felt her legs sweep out from under her, and she crashed to the ground, where she lay limp, having no energy to get back up again. The force of the Trip Jinx wasn't actually very strong, but she was too exhausted to hold her body up. Jason had started crying quietly, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the helpless guard and what he had done to her.

* * *

><p>Cat saw Umbridge stalking towards her, and she tried not to groan.<p>

"Greetings, Umbridge-san," Cat said politely. "What can I do for you?"

The toad smiled sweetly, her pink lips curving upwards towards her pouchy eyes. Umbridge was wearing a purple velvet cardigan today, and it didn't really go well with her skin tone. Then again, nothing did.

"Ah, Cat," said Umbridge in her most sugary voice. "I was hoping to ask you a few questions."

"Sorry, but I don't have time right now. I'll be late for guarding duty," Cat said, gesturing up the corridor in an absent-minded way.

"Where do you think Slug is?" Umbridge asked as if Cat had never spoken. The girl resisted the urge to drag her hand down her face.

"She is accompanying Jason, who is going to visit a sick relative," Cat said, voicing the first thing that came to mind.

_Dammit, that sounds so false!_ Cat thought frantically. Umbridge was gazing at Cat intently, as though she was trying to sniff out a lie.

"A sick relative, you say," she said skeptically. "And where is this… _sick relative_?"

Cat shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? My captain only spoke to Slug."

Umbridge curled her lip, obviously dissatisfied with Cat's answer.

"I see," she said slowly. Cat mentally pounded herself.

_She's smarter than she looks,_ Cat thought. _Of all the people…_

"Well then, when Slug gets back, I want one of you to report to me," Umbridge said. Cat bristled. Who was she to think that she could order them around?

Cat bid Umbridge good night after managing to shrug the woman off, and then she tapped into her radio to tell her teammates their new cover story for Slug's absence.

* * *

><p>Mark Pilate was not happy. He was worried. So extremely worried. His best friend Jason Fleance had gone missing for four days now, and he didn't know where he was.<p>

Mark had gone to talk to Hawk, one of the guards, but Hawk had simply told him that his mother was sick and Slug had gone off to take him to his family for a week. But Mark didn't really believe him. After all, Mark was his best friend and the two boys shared everything together. If they left during the night, why didn't Jason wake Mark up to tell him goodbye?

Mark frowned and curled up in a ball on his bed. He had not gotten any more information out of Raccoon, who also guarded the Slytherin common room. He had tried to ask Cat, who seemed the friendliest out of the shinobi, but she had told him the same story as Hawk did.

During class, none of the teachers seemed to notice anything wrong. When they called the role, they simply skipped over Jason's name and went onto the next one. None of them seemed concerned, and when Mark had asked Professor Snape where Jason was, Snape had repeated what Hawk, Raccoon and Cat had said.

"Geez Jason, where the heck did you go?" Mark asked himself quietly.

* * *

><p>"Headmaster," Umbridge said sweetly. Dumbledore glanced up and smiled calmly at the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.<p>

"Ah, Dolores," Dumbledore said, moving out from behind his desk. "What brings you here?"

The stout witch plucked a letter from the inside of her robes and waved it in the air.

"I have received a letter from the Minister requesting the dismissal of the nine ninja you currently have in your service," Umbridge said, "or should I say… eight."

Dumbledore, surprised though he may be, showed nothing to her.

"I beg your pardon?" he said. "But why would the Minister want to request their leave?"

"The Minister has tolerated their presence in the wizarding world for long enough," Umbridge said. "They have failed in their job by letting a student get abducted. Therefore, they must leave."

"Ah, but how do you know that Slug and Mr Fleance were abducted?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully. Umbridge scowled, her pasty face turning red.

"I am not a fool, Dumbledore," she said. "I know that they have been captured."

"I'm afraid that Mr Fleance is currently visiting a sick relative, and Slug has accompanied him," Dumbledore said. "They have not been abducted. Now if you would leave, now, Dolores. I have some work to do."

And the headmaster all but shoved Umbridge politely out of his office.

* * *

><p>Freezing, creeping air stole into the room. Jason instantly perked up, fear written into his face. A strange, rattling sound was heard, and Sakura's insides dropped. She was lying weakly against the wall, being no longer able to stand.<p>

"What is it?" Sakura whispered.

"Dementors," Jason said, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

_FLASHBACK_

"_A Dementor is a Dark creature, considered one of the foulest to inhabit the world. Dementors feed off human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to anyone near them. They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as 'soul-sucking fiends' and are known to leave a person as an 'empty shell'," Lupin said._

_END FLASHBACK_

Sakura remembered what Lupin had said back in Grimmauld Place. It was Sakura (or Slug, rather) herself who had asked what a Dementor was. Her heart dropped down from its place in her chest, settling uncomfortably somewhere around her navel. The dim candle in the room flickered and burnt out. Before it did, however, Sakura saw Orochimaru steal out of the room, a triumphant grin on his face. The cell was plunged into darkness.

Jason whimpered, and Sakura felt around, located him and drew him close to her body, hugging the trembling boy. She felt an inhuman presence in the room, something filled with bitterness and hatred. A tall, towering figure, a shade darker than the room itself, was gliding smoothly towards them.

Sakura's eyes widened as a sudden rush of memories overwhelmed her, all of which were unpleasant and best left alone.

_She was six… all these kids were teasing her about her large forehead._

_She was eight… her mother had just come into her room and told her that her father had been killed during a mission._

_She was ten… she had had a pet bunny. It died three days after her birthday._

_She was twelve… she had just watched Sasuke fall from Haku's senbon. It pierced every part of his exposed body during their mission in the Land of the Waves. _

_She was thirteen… she had seen her two teammates fight. She didn't know how to stop them. How helpless she felt, watching them battle with the intent to kill. _

_Watching Sasuke leave the village._

_Watching Naruto suffer because of the promise she had forced upon him._

_Getting attacked by Sasuke years later with no hesitation. _

_No recognition that she had been his teammate._

_No warmth from their past friendship._

_No mercy._

_Just cold, cold hatred._

_So very cold…_

"Slug! Sakura!" Jason's shaking cry jolted her out of her memories. Sakura felt freezing hands close around her neck, forcing her chin upwards. A rattling, hoarse sound was coming from the creature's neck. Jason's fingernails were digging into her skin.

With an enormous amount of will, Sakura forced a quivering hand to rise up, and she slapped the Dementor around where its head should have been. Hard.

The Dementor, shockingly, released its hold on her, and it drifted back, and then it came forward again. Sakura felt herself slipping away as it closed in a second time. Such awful memories…

She screamed as a terrible coldness descended upon her.

She clapped her hands around her ears, wishing for the memories to go away, to bury themselves back into the bottomless pits of her heart. Her heart was pounding, forcing blood through her veins, but even her blood felt like freezing ice. Past voices shrieked and called from various memories as they resurfaced, unbidden and unwanted.

She faintly heard a snake-like voice ring across the room. The Dementor glided away from her, and it seemed to leave the room, because it suddenly became very warm again. Sakura continued gasping for breath, but she tried to focus her blurry mind on what she had just heard. The voice that had commanded the Dementor away was that of a male's, but it wasn't any language she had ever heard before. It was almost like a mixture of hisses and airy snarls (2).

"I see that even ninja are not immune to the power of Dementors," said Voldemort, looking down at her with his glowing red eyes. Jason had pressed his face into her stomach, where he lay, curled up in a ball, shaking uncontrollably. Sakura herself was hunched over him, protecting him from the Dementor that had just disappeared. She tried not to throw up, though there was pretty much nothing in her stomach anyway.

"It's strange, though," Voldemort continued, not even caring whether or not Sakura or Jason was listening to him. "The Dementor took much longer than usual to try and kiss you. Usually, if someone has seen what you ninja have seen, done what you ninja have done and lived through what you ninja have lived, they would have passed out like weak fools as soon as the Dementor came into the room, and yet you didn't. How strange. Strange, but interesting… how very interesting. And I have also never seen someone try and slap a Dementor before; normally they are too consumed by the memories to try anything. Ninja have enormous amounts of will, don't you think?"

Sakura raised her head, which felt as heavy as lead, to look at the wizard standing by the door. She felt so exhausted, so worn out; she wanted to sleep so badly. Both she and Jason were covered in cold sweat. She was still gripping him tightly and she wished with all her heart that he didn't have to go through all this.

_He's only twelve,_ Sakura thought numbly, _why does he have to be put through this torture?_

She felt, barely, another presence enter the room. She looked up and saw, to her disgust, Orochimaru, and also Madara. The two ninja stood side by side. Voldemort turned his snake-like head and regarded them both closely.

"Are we going to kill them soon, my Lord?" a voice hissed manically from the door. Bellatrix's head curved in, and her lip curled with disgust when she saw Sakura.

"We won't kill her," Madara said, his voice echoed creepily around the room. Voldemort titled his head slightly, but did not say anything.

"What? And why not?" Bellatrix said, her voice rising. "That… _girl_ has been a thorn in my side for days. She irritates me!"

"If we let her go, it will more fun that way," Orochimaru grinned, his tongue slicking out, "Right, Voldemort-san?"

"Another extra ninja isn't going to make a difference," Madara said. "Besides, when it is time for us to clash… I do enjoy a good fight."

"Very well," Voldemort said coldly. "When it has been a full week, let her and the boy go; they mean nothing to me." He knew that the two ninja were mocking his abilities behind cleverly constructed words. He refused for their respect of him to diminish. He ignored the surprised look of Bellatrix Lestrange and swept away.

* * *

><p>Harry awoke, panting for air and shining with sweat.<p>

_What was that?_ Harry thought. He drew a hand across his forehead, and it came back very damp. It suddenly felt too stifling in the bed, and he pushed his blanket away and rolled off. He stumbled towards the window, eager for a glass of water. The stars twinkled innocently in night, and the air pressed against his skin.

_Why did I suddenly dream of that room?_ Harry thought. He pushed his hair back from his face and tried to remember what he had seen in his mind's eye.

He saw a darkened room, made entirely of dirty stone. He couldn't see much, but he saw a figure chained to the wall. He couldn't see the person clearly; there was not much light, but he did see a length of hair the colour of fairy floss **(A/N This is what we call it in Australia. I believe the other name of this sweet is cotton candy)**.

_Slug,_ Harry thought, _was that her?_

He had also seen a small boy huddled at her feet. Again, he could not see the face. There had been a strange… man, if he could call it a man. Harry wasn't sure what he was, but he saw someone with pasty skin, black hair, cat-like yellow eyes and what looked like purple eye shadow. The person with the pink hair, who Harry was pretty sure was Slug, whispered a name which sounded like 'Orochimaru'.

_I'm just being stupid,_ Harry thought. _The other ninja said that Slug is on another mission. There would be no way that she's getting tortured. Well, it _looked_ like she was getting tortured…_

Yet Harry could not stop the unease that was stirring within his mind. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't know how to explain it to others without it sounding weird.

_The guards will take care of it,_ Harry finally decided. He suddenly became acutely aware that he had been gripping the glass of water a little too tightly, and that his fingers were starting to hurt. A little puzzled, Harry put down the glass, and slowly climbed back to bed. He listened to the rhythmic snores of Neville, before drifting off to sleep again.

* * *

><p>Dragon walked quickly through Hogwarts and entered the Great Hall. It was Friday, one week since Slug and Jason had gone missing. If Orochimaru kept his word, then they both should be returning today. She looked around and spotted Hawk, who glanced up when he felt the pressure of her stare.<p>

"What's wrong?" Hawk asked.

"Slug is supposed to be back today," Dragon said calmly. Hawk titled his head, trying to read the weapons mistress' eyes. They were blank, filled with no emotion.

"She'll be back," Hawk said. "If not today, then we will go and rescue her… her and Fleance-san." Dragon sighed, and then murmured, "I'm going to train."

She left the Great Hall with Hawk boring holes into her back. A second later, she felt his presence beside her.

"I haven't trained for a while either," Hawk said. "I'll spar with you."

It was noon, and most students were spending their lunch hour lounging around outside. Harry, Ron and Hermione were seen hurrying towards Hagrid's hut.

The two shinobi entered the Forbidden Forest, but before they could get themselves ready, there was a flash of blinding white light. Dragon and Hawk instantly whipped out kunai, screwing up their eyes in an effort to protect them from the glare. When the light finally subsided, Dragon gasped in shock at what she saw.

Sakura had appeared, and she was piggy backing Jason. The kunoichi looked on the verge of death; she had long scratches up and down her face and her body looked like one big bruise. Her pink hair was splayed around her head and it was streaked with grime and a red substance that Dragon identified as blood. She collapsed where she stood, too weak to stand. Jason didn't look much better, but he at least was conscious.

Dragon and Hawk darted forward, relieved that the two of them appeared within the Forest. They didn't want staring eyes and whispers right now.

"Sakura," Dragon muttered. She took off her own dragon mask and put it on Sakura's face, shielding her identity. Tenten then quickly Henge-d her face into that of a mask.

"Wait, how do we know this is the real Sakura and Fleance-san and not one of White Zetsu's clones?" Hawk asked. Tenten paused for a moment, and then knelt down next to the girl, took off her mask… and then slapped her around the face, hard.

"Ow… WHAT THE HELL, TENTEN?" Sakura roared, springing up from where she was lying. Dragon jumped back from Sakura's fist with a grin on her face.

"That's Sakura," Dragon chuckled. Her laughter quickly died down again when Sakura tottered for a few seconds and then fell, unconscious again. Dragon caught her and put her mask back on.

"Alright, Fleance-san," Hawk said, turning to the boy. "What is the Slytherin common room's password?"

Jason, though thoroughly freaked out, said the correct password. Hawk sighed, and then started checking Slug for any major wounds.

"Her chakra system is alright," Hawk said, deactivating his Byakugan, "but she's lost a lot of blood." He then looked back at Jason, who was clinging to Slug.

"She'll be fine," Hawk said, noting the student's distress and worry over the guard. Dragon tapped into her radio, alerting the others that they had found Sakura.

"Let's take her up to the hospital wing," Dragon said. She lifted Slug up bridal style and body-flickered up to the castle to avoid the students out on the grounds, who had yet to notice anything wrong. Hawk did the same with Jason, who was mumbling incoherent sentences.

"Slug!" Dove cried, spotting her friend. Dragon had just entered the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey was bustling over.

"Wait," Dragon told the Yamanaka girl. She then turned to the nurse witch. "Please help her." Madam Pomfrey, white in the face, nodded and Dragon deposited Slug onto a bed, drawing the curtains around her.

Madam Pomfrey gently took the mask off, clucking her tongue when she saw the mess of injuries on Sakura's face. She did not seem to notice Sakura's youth, only focusing on her wounds. Sakura was breathing unevenly, her breaths coming in quick, ragged gasps.

"No, wait, I'm sorry, Pomfrey-san, but could you please heal Fleance-san first," Dragon said. "Dove will take care of Slug right now." Dove, hearing her name, came in from behind the screen. She quickly took in the injuries on Sakura, and then, without hesitation, started healing her, her hand lit up in a blue glow, her eyes glaring out fiercely behind her mask.

Jason was looking over to the screened bed where he knew Sakura was. He looked over at Hawk, who was also glancing at the place where his comrade lay with pallid eyes.

"She helped me," Jason said quietly. Hawk looked over at the boy in surprise. "She told me to curse her so that I wouldn't get punished. She knew that it would hurt, but she kept on being strong and lied and said that she was fine."

Hawk looked at the second year Slytherin boy curiously. Jason looked… almost angry. His tiny fists were clenched upon the bed sheets, not moving a muscle while Madam Pomfrey poked around, healing his various bruises and cuts.

"Did she now...?" Hawk said quietly. "Well, Slug is Slug. You can't change that."

"Her name is Sakura," Jason said, looking up at the guard. Hawk glanced at him sharply.

"You found out her name?" he asked.

"Well, there was this creepy man who looked like a snake," Jason muttered. "He called her 'Sakura-chan'." Hawk hissed and cursed Orochimaru to the ends of the earth.

"Fleance-san," Hawk murmured. The boy looked up at him. "Just call her Slug now, alright? Students aren't supposed to know the guards' real names." Jason had detected the seriousness behind the words and agreed.

Dragon appeared from behind the screens just as Fox, Raccoon and Cat entered the hospital wing. All of them headed straight for the curtained bed, but Dragon shook her head and said that Sakura needed space. Dove slipped around the curtains, gave Dragon back her original mask, then went to back and continued healing Sakura.

Fox, Raccoon and Cat waited impatiently outside, and after fifteen minutes, Dove said that they could see her, but they had to be quiet so that she could concentrate on healing.

"Sakura," Raccoon said. He looked down at the pink haired kunoichi's face, which was covered in so many wounds. He moved forwards and brushed a light, pale hand over her face. He felt relief fill his heart, knowing that Sakura was alright. Hurt, but alright.

"Sakura," Fox said. He dropped into a chair, sighing and feeling suddenly tired.

"Is she going to be okay?" Cat asked softly. "Her chakra system is fine, I can tell."

"She's depleted her physical energy," Dove said, "now, she just needs to rest."

"How about the little Slytherin boy?" Fox asked, "Fleance-san? What happened to him?"

"He's over there," Dove said, nodding in his general direction, "I think Hawk's with him."

Fox left to go and talk to Jason, interrogate him, possibly. Raccoon sat in Fox's empty seat and stared at Sakura's sleeping face. it was slowly turning back to normal thanks to Dove's healing techniques, which weren't as good as Sakura's herself but it would suffice.

"_Gomenasai,"_ Raccoon murmured,_ "gomenasai, Sakura."_

* * *

><p>It was six o'clock that night. Dumbledore had come in and checked on Jason and Sakura. Apparently satisfied that his student was not in mortal danger, Dumbledore then turned to the shinobi and started asking questions. Sakura still hadn't woken up yet, and Dove had said that it might be a while until she did.<p>

Stag and Wolf had dropped by to see her. Jason had become unusually attached to Sakura, always asking whether she would be alright or not.

"She's fine," Wolf said coolly for the hundredth time. "She just needs to sleep." He patted Akamaru's head, looking every now and then to the direction where his teammate lay.

"This job is getting dangerous," Stag muttered, "troublesome."

"Well, it _is_ an A ranked mission," Wolf reminded him.

"True," Stag sighed, "but I just thought it meant guarding a bunch of troublesome kids from a troublesome evil lord."

"You're the genius," Wolf said, "You shouldn't assume things like that."

"That's what you get for being smart," Stag grumbled, "everyone has high expectations of you, and when you fail, your good reputation gets trampled on. Troublesome."

News of Slug being in hospital had spread throughout the school. It was accidental. Some students had been walking into the hospital wing when they overheard Jason asking when Slug would wake up. They had put two and two together, and had figured out that Slug was hurt and she was the one behind the screened bed.

Raccoon had stayed by Sakura's side all day, never leaving, not even to eat. Seeing her injuries had made him feel tremendously guilty, though he didn't show it.

At that moment, Sakura's eyes fluttered open, revealing the emerald green behind them. The first thing she saw was the ceiling, and when she turned her head to her right she saw Raccoon sitting rigidly in a chair. He wasn't looking in her direction; instead, his eyes seemed to be unfocused, looking away into the distance.

"Sakura," Raccoon said, realizing that she was awake. She gave him a weak smile.

"Hello," she murmured. Her voice was crackly and her throat felt dry.

"I'm sorry," Raccoon said immediately. Sakura frowned at him, wondering why he sounded so… helpless.

"For what?" she asked. Raccoon gestured to her face.

"For not saving you on time. For sitting around all week instead of looking for you. For letting you suffer through all this," Raccoon said bluntly. Sakura almost laughed out loud. She thought it was something more serious.

"Idiot," she said, "this is a mission. An A ranked one. We're bound to get hurt, you know. When we took this assignment, we weren't guaranteed a clean, bloodless job." She stopped and tried to swallow; her throat was parched. Raccoon poured her a cup of water, and she took it with a muttered, "Thanks."

Fox popped his head around the screens.

"I heard voices," Fox said, his voice impassive. "What – oh, you're awake." He sounded like he was talking about the weather, but in reality he was privately jumping for joy in the recesses of his mind.

"I'm awake," Sakura said. Fox disappeared, and she could hear him telling everyone that she was conscious. In five minutes, her little screened bed was crowded by the bodies of eight ANBU.

_"So what happened?" _Cat asked after everyone had finished their little chit chats. Sakura's face lost its smile.

_"Orochimaru just wanted me as a test subject,"_ she said. _"There are 'weak spells' and 'strong spells'. He captured Jason because he is only in the second year of Hogwarts, and therefore his spells aren't really powerful. Orochimaru wanted to experiment the differences between a spell cast by a student and a spell cast by a Death Eater."_

_"There _was_ a difference, I presume,"_ Hawk said. Sakura nodded.

_"Yes. For example, Jason cast a Stinging Hex on me. The welts that resulted from that were small and they didn't hurt much. But when a Death Eater cast it, the welts were much larger and it was more painful,"_ Sakura said. _"But Orochimaru said that the welts weren't as big as they would normally be on a wizard."_

_"So that means that if a spell hits us, they will affect us?"_ Wolf asked. _"Hawk was right."_

_"But they don't affect us to their fullest extent,"_ Dragon added.

_"Also, it seems that our armour protects us to a certain degree,"_ Sakura said. _"Jason tried to Stun me, but if only bounced off my armour. A Death Eater Stunned me, and I was Stunned for about three seconds."_

_"So our armour protects us from the weaker spells,"_ Stag said. _"But when Death Eaters curse us, then the affect is lesser than what should normally happen."_

_"Yes, people who are Stunned tend to stay Stunned for quite a while,"_ Dragon said. _"But we only stay Stunned for three seconds? That's interesting."_

_"I heard Orochimaru saying that we are not affected by spells like normal wizards because our bodies are built differently,"_ Sakura said. _"He said our bodies were stronger. So, if Jason, for example, tried to kill me using Avada Kedavra, then nothing would happen. If Voldemort tried to use Avada Kedavra on us, then it would probably only knock me unconscious for about a month or so." _

_"I guess a shinobi can only be killed by another shinobi in this world,"_ Hawk said emotionlessly. There was a pause, and then Sakura spoke again.

_"Also, a Dementor was brought into the room," _Sakura said. The others tensed when they heard this. They had all come across books one way or another that explained what Dementors were and what they did.

_"Voldemort said that the Dementor took much longer to kiss me,"_ Sakura said.

_"It's probably because you're a ninja,"_ Shikamaru said quietly. Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged. _"Ninja are people with dark paths. You could come across a ninja who has not experienced happiness at all, though that is rare. There is no one who does not carry scars on his heart. If there were someone like that in the world, they would be a shallow soul (3). _

_"Ninja just happen to have much more scars than normal. That means they will probably have more bad experiences than good,"_ Stag said.

_"That's not true,"_ Fox protested. _"I know some ninja who have lots of good memories."_

_"Correct,"_ Stag said, _"But still, if a shinobi and a wizard stood side by side and a Dementor had to choose between the two, it would most likely go for the wizard. It's just like putting a dog and a human together. The Dementor will obviously go for the human, because he or she will most likely hold more happy memories than the dog."_

Silence descended upon the group as they all digested this piece of news. Finally, it was broken by Sakura, yet again.

_"I have information on our enemies,"_ she said softly. _"I know their numbers."_ Everyone immediately became even quieter.

_"Proceed,"_ Fox said simply.

_"Fourteen Death Eaters, not including Voldemort,"_ Sakura said. _"There were fourteen with Voldemort, and I know for sure that there are many more scattered across the globe. And there are six members of the Akatsuki. We have all identified all of them. Sasori is not there yet. I overheard Madara asking Zetsu when Sasori would arrive. There are also around one hundred Sound ninja, ranging from chunin to jounin. I also heard Madara saying that they will launch an attack on Hogwarts, but I don't know when. I think they thought I was asleep or something, and so they spoke a tiny bit louder than usual. I did not hear everything, but I got the gist of it."_

_"Fourteen Death Eaters? That doesn't sound like a lot,"_ Raccoon said. _"But they are powerful, aren't they."_ It was a statement, not a question.

_"Our biggest problem right now are the Akatsuki,"_ Dragon said. _"We have to find out why they could appear on the Hogwarts grounds so easily. It doesn't make sense. Plus, they want to attack."_

_"That flash of white light that sent Sakura and Jason back to us,"_ Hawk said. _"We need to know how they did that as well."_

Fox, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.

_"Do we know where Kabuto is?"_ he asked.

_"Come to think of it… where _has_ that bastard been?"_ Stag said. _"He has disappeared from the limelight. Troublesome."_

_"He's probably still on the ninja continent,"_ Cat said.

_"He's with Orochimaru,"_ Sakura said, _"but he didn't really do anything to me. Well, he did, but not as much as the others."_

_"We'll worry about him if he poses a threat to us,"_ Raccoon said quietly. _"Right now, our problems are big enough."_

_"They sure are,"_ Wolf said. _"I'm pretty sure Orochimaru has shared all this wonderful information about the varying effects of spells on shinobi to the other Akatsuki members, as well as Voldemort and his Death Eaters."_

Sakura frowned and rubbed the back of her neck.

_"What's wrong?"_ Raccoon asked, noticing her movements. Sakura glanced at him, and then muttered, _"I don't know… my neck hurts for some reason."_

_"Here, let me check that,"_ Dove said. She pushed Sakura's hands gently out of the way and inspected the bare skin intently.

_"Fox…"_ Dove said slowly. The captain came over at once.

_"What's wrong?"_ Fox asked. Dove pointed to Sakura's neck.

_"What's this?"_ Dove asked. _"It looks like some kind of mark on her neck."_

There was indeed a mark on Sakura's neck. It was in the shape of star with a circle around it. Fox's eyes narrowed when he spotted it.

_"This is rare,"_ Fox murmured. _"This is kind of like a bugging device."_

_"A what?"_ Hawk said sharply.

_"A bugging device,"_ Fox repeated, _"this mark means that one of the Akatsuki tagged her, and now she's bugged. They can hear everything that we're saying."_

_"What?"_ Wolf barked.

_"Relax,"_ Stag muttered. _"We haven't said anything that the Akatsuki and Voldemort don't already know." _

_"It's okay, this is a weak chakra mark,"_ Fox said, pulling away from Sakura. _"It'll be easy to get rid of. This type of mark isn't very developed yet, so it's not strong or anything. It's only been discovered in the last five years or so."_

_"Can you take it away now?"_ Sakura asked anxiously. Fox shook his head.

_"No, it's a strange chakra mark. It can only be removed during daylight between eleven o'clock and twelve o'clock, so I'll pop by tomorrow and remove it for you then,"_ her captain said.

Dove, noticing the way Sakura was grimacing, shooed everyone out of the way.

_"She needs to rest. All that talking's just made her tired. Go away, before you make her even sicker!"_

* * *

><p><strong>(1)Muhwahaha. Now you guys know why this fic was called 'To Be Different'. There'll be more little things like this throughout the story. See if you can find them. It's not even well hidden behind words or anything (most of the time). They will be the actual words: 'to be different'. <strong>

**(2) I don't actually know how Voldemort controls Dementors, but it did say that they joined his forces, so I assume that means that Voldemort has control over them, no? I just made Voldemort speak in Parseltongue to drive the Dementor away, since none of the Death Eaters apart from Snape can produce Patronuses.**

**(3) 'There is no one who does not carry scars on his heart. If there were someone like that in the world, they would be a shallow soul.' A quote by Hiei from _Yu Yu Hakusho_ by Yoshihiro Togashi.**

**I'll be tying up the loose ends of this problem in the next chapter. **

**We haven't seen Harry, Ron and Hermione for a while, now have we? They'll be back in the next chapter as well. **

**Oooh. I wrote quite a lot in this chapter. Not including the Author's Notes, this chapter is around seven thousand words long~!**

**Can someone tell me how the Beta Reader thing works? Because how are you supposed to 'accept' a beta request? And how are you supposed to send one, for that matter?**

**Ah, by the way... DON'T review and tell me things like, "Voldemort would have killed Sakura. The Akatsuki wouldn't have gotten in his way" or something like that, okay? Because that would seriously piss me off. Sometimes, strange things just HAPPEN. Accept it.**

**Since today's my birthday, would you please give me lots of reviews? And if you do, I'll give you lotsa birthday cake!**


	14. Chakra and Jutsu

**I've been messing around with the time line in the HP book and I probably will continue to do so. Just a warning. I doubt any of you really care but meh, just thought I'd tell you. **

**This is kinda a filler chapter. Well, not filler, but it's just more of a relaxing chapter; a break from all the problems of the last few… also includes an omake at the end with Sirius and Buckbeak, but it's not funny XP I suck at humour.**

**IMPORTANT (somewhat):**

**I don't know if you guys remember, but Shikamaru and Temari have a daughter named Ayame. I decided to change this, seeing as there is already an 'Ayame' in Naruto (the daughter of the man who owns Ichiraku Ramen). Now, her name is 'Michiko'.**

**Michiko = beautiful wise child**

**I just finished reading _Fullmetal Alchemist_, and I loved it~! It was awesome. My favourite character is Roy Mustang and Lan Fan. He's pretty funny and Lan Fan is awesome XD And now I have a liking of Harry Potter x Fullmetal Alchemist crossover. Nooo! Plot bunnies are coming! Must resist! Have enough stories to worry about! *Unconsciously plans a HP x FMA crossover***

**Thanks to: Kyuubi No Tenshi, Spider's Thread, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Tranquil-Chaos, soprano-in-waiting, ReaderWorm101, The Shadow Moon, ladyyuuki16, an anonymous review, TheMysteriousAuthoress0925, SasuHina4evr, Faultless to a Fault, Beware of the smilingfox, Scarlett Winds, Krows Scared, Winged Wolfie Chibi, DreamingOfSerenity, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Crazy-Psycho-Anime-Lover, Ichigo Mirai, wingedcrazy1214, verohey5, Pineapple4life, tenshi-no-akuma-81, TheFabulousLMH, DANGEROUS NINGA, SilverLunaMoon and TheIcecreamGeek for reviewing.**

**To all those who wished me a Happy Birthday, double thanks to you! I actually got the birthday tune stuck in my head while I was reading all your awesome reviews XD**

**And one more thank you to tenshi-no-akuma-81 for the little suggestion about what happens to Jason.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Chakra and Jutsu **

* * *

><p>Fox had come to visit Slug first thing in the morning to remove the bugging device on her neck. He had stood in front of her, where he did about five hand signs and muttered a few words. Slug felt chakra swell from his body, and a second later, she felt the mark on her neck prickle, and then it disappeared.<p>

The day after Slug returned was Saturday, which also meant a Quidditch match. Although Slug missed it, the report she heard from Wolf made her kind of glad. Apparently the very best thing about the match was that it was very short.

"It's kinda hard to say what the worst thing was: it was a close-run contest between Weasley-san's fourteenth failed save, Sloper-san missing the Bludger, you know, the flying ball that attacks everyone, but hitting Johnson-san in the mouth with his bat, or that dude called Kirke screaming like a girl and falling backwards off his flying stick when Smith-san came towards him carrying the Quaffle," Wolf said.

The two of them were inside the Hospital Wing. Slug was still bed-ridden, and Wolf had just dropped by to give her some company and to tell her about the match.

Slug snorted, and said, "I wouldn't want to be in the Gryffindor common room at the moment."

"Yeah, but the miracle was is that Weasley Ginny managed to catch that little winged ball, the Snitch, so that Gryffindor only lost by about ten points," Wolf said. Akamaru barked, and Wolf chuckled. Apparently, what Akamaru just said was very amusing.

* * *

><p>Harry was chatting with Ginny in a common room, whose atmosphere unfortunately resembled that of a particularly dismal funeral.<p>

"Good catch," Harry told Ginny. She shrugged, blowing away strands of her fiery red hair.

"I was lucky," she said. "It wasn't a very fast Snitch and Summerby's got a cold, he sneezed and closed his eyes at exactly the wrong moment. And anyway, once you're back on the team –"

"Ginny, I've got a _lifelong_ ban."

"You're banned as long as Umbridge is in the school," Ginny corrected him. "There's a difference. Anyway, once you're back in the team, I think I'll try out for Chaser. Angelina and Alicia are both leaving next year and I prefer goal-scoring to Seeking anyway."

"Why is everyone so down?" asked a cool, bored voice. Harry turned, recognising the owner. Fox stood behind the pair, gazing critically at the way all the Gryffindors were slumped down looking as if someone had died.

"The Quidditch match was too embarrassing," Harry told him. Fox turned his blue-eyed stare on the scarred boy. If Harry thought that Fox would be a lot more cheerful now that Slug was back, he thought was wrong. The ANBU captain was still cold, unforgiving and uncaring. It didn't matter whether his comrades were safe or not, Fox was still Fox, and his personality had not changed at all (1).

"It's just a game," Fox said. "No need to get _that_ emotional."

Harry and Ginny shrugged.

"It kind of… lowers the reputation of the house," Ginny said. "Now everyone else will think that the Gryffindors are a bunch of losers."

"Yes, but there were only seven Gryffindors playing up there," Fox said. "Will people judge the whole house on how seven people performed in a match?"

Harry opened his mouth, but could find no reply. Against his will, he felt as though Fox was right.

"But you miss it, don't you," Fox said suddenly. "Quidditch was your escape, right?"

Harry stared at him, and Fox stared back unblinkingly. Inside, Harry was feeling a little unnerved, knowing that what Fox said was true. Ginny looked between the two boys, and then muttered something about doing homework and she slipped away.

"I… better go check on Ron," Harry said, breaking away from his staring contest. Fox continued to look at him. Harry walked over to Ron, conscious of the gaze burning into his back.

Ron was hunched in a corner, a bottle of Butterbeer clutched in his hand, his face blank.

"Angelina still won't let him resign," Fred said, going over to join Harry. "She says she knows he's got it in him."

"Ah…" said Harry.

Harry liked Angelina for the faith she was showing in Ron, but at the same time thought it would really be kinda to let him leave the team. Ron had left the pitch to another booming chorus of 'Weasley is our King' sung with great gusto by the Slytherins, who were now favourites to win the Quidditch Cup.

Great.

* * *

><p>"Hey, we're going to erase Fleance-san's memory," Fox said. Sakura glanced up at him from her position on the hospital bed. Her brow furrowed.<p>

"When?" she asked. Fox shrugged.

"Now, I guess," Fox said. "We're just going to erase what happened in the last week, starting from when Madara kidnapped him."

"Yeah, I guess that's for the best," Sakura murmured. "It's better if he forgot what happened."

Fox let out a sigh. "I thought you were going to argue."

Sakura shook her head. "No. It's better if he forgets." Fox nodded slowly.

"Dove will replace his real memory with a fake one," Fox said. Sakura inclined her head, indicating that Fox should get a move on. "Later, Sakura-chan."

* * *

><p>"Alright, this lesson is mainly going to be you watching and us moving," Fox barked. It was that time of the week again, the self defence class time. It seemed that more than half the original students who came to the self defence class the first time had dropped out. They had been too lazy and worn out to continue. Now, there were only about fifteen members, including Harry, Ron and Hermione, as well as many other fifth years, like Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom (surprise, surprise). There were a few of the lower grades, and only about five people were from the sixth and seventh years. Today, Dragon, Hawk, Raccoon and Fox were teaching them. The rest were either guarding or doing their own little things.<p>

"We're going to be talking to you about chakra and its uses," Hawk said quietly. Instead of out by the lake like they usually were, the group had been shoved into a classroom. Harry could see Malfoy and his posse jeering and making faces at him through the window. No doubt he thought it was hilarious that they had to go to class on a Saturday. Hawk waited patiently for silence, which came quickly. He ignored the Slytherin boys.

"Excuse me," Hermione said, hands raised. Hawk glanced over to her and gave her a tiny nod, signalling for her to continue. "Why are you showing us this? How will it protect us?"

"Why can't we show you?" Hawk asked. Hermione flushed, but Hawk did not notice, and if he did, he didn't care.

"Have you all read the article about Voldemort gaining new followers?" Dragon asked. Many of the students nodded.

"They call themselves the Akatsuki," a boy called out. Dragon glared at him, reprimanding him for shouting out. He wilted under her intense gaze.

"Yes," Dragon said, still staring intently at the boy. "They are called the Akatsuki."

"Our world has its own share of evils," Hawk said softly, "only they are called rogue ninja. The Akatsuki are a group of rogue ninja who have joined together for a common goal, or simply convenience-driven comradeship."

"They are not Voldemort's new followers," Fox said sharply. "They have only allied themselves with him. They are normally a very independent group, so them joining Voldemort must mean that they are planning something big."

"Which brings us back to Granger-san's question," Raccoon said tonelessly. He twitched as Malfoy continued to jeer silently at them.

_I'll deal with him later,_ Raccoon thought.

"Whether you like it or not, eventually one of you is going to face an enemy ninja. The majority of ninja know how to use jutsu, in other words, techniques using chakra. You could call it our type of magic, except chakra is limited. But though it is limited, it is generally much more powerful than your spells… and much bloodier," Raccoon said passively.

"So we need you to recognise a jutsu when you see one, that is what we're going to show you today," Dragon said, her tone strangely cheerful. "Generally, you wizards can't do anything when faced with a jutsu; it's normally way too powerful."

"We're not going to go into the details as to how chakra and jutsu work for two reasons," Fox said. "One, you do not need to know, and two, you're not ninja, so you don't even deserve to know." Akamaru barked in agreement.

Harry mentally scoffed at them.

_He thinks that ninja are so good and all that,_ Harry thought savagely. _In fact, all of the guards seem to think that they are way better than wizards. Who do they think they are? This isn't even their world, and yet they're acting all high and mighty._

"And no, we're not acting all high and mighty just because we think our jutsu are more powerful than your spells," Hawk said bluntly, sending a glare towards Harry's direction. He bristled; was it just a coincidence, or did he read his mind? He didn't know the powers of these people (2).

"Since you cannot learn to mould chakra, we're going to have to teach you to defend against us using your magic," Dragon said. She twirled a kunai idly in her hand. "You've been learning how to punch, kick and block, but that will not suffice. In fact, using those moves we taught you won't even let you hold your own against one of us."

"Alright, demonstration time," Fox said, his voice unusually enthusiastic. Most of the guards spoke in monotones, and it was rare to see one excited, albeit slightly.

"Last time, you all saw Fox's Rasengan, didn't you?" Hawk said. The students nodded.

"There are different types of jutsu, just like there are different types of spells," Raccoon said, "for example, my sand." With a small gesture of his fingers, sand poured elegantly from the gourd strapped to his back. It moved around listlessly, and the students at the front of the room shrank back.

Harry gagged as a disgusting scent filled his nose. Beside him, Ron shifted, his expression uncomfortable, his mouth set in a thin line. Harry wondered why he hadn't smelled it before.

"That sand," Hermione whispered, her eyes wide. She clenched her fists.

"What about it?" Ron asked, though Harry was sure he already knew the answer. Ron's face was enough to tell him.

"It stinks of blood (3)."

Evidently, Raccoon and the other shinobi heard that comment, and they all cast their cold gazes towards the trio who sat in the middle of the room.

"Blood is a common substance in our world," Raccoon said calmly. His sand twisted in fantastic shapes, rising out of the ground and then melting back down again. "You wizards do not see much of it, because your spells do not normally draw blood. They do not often create external wounds. In the ninja world, everything is physical. The kunai, the shuriken, even the jutsu will leave you injured and scarred both mentally and physically." He turned back to his sand, his blank green eyes seemingly lost in thought. There was a long silence in the room, and then Raccoon seemed to recover from his lapse in concentration.

"My sand moves like this because my chakra is embedded in it, controlling it," Raccoon said. "The enemy may have an ability like this, though it may not necessarily be sand. [Spoiler to Naruto chapter 546] I know my… father can control gold dust."

"We have a comrade who can turn his body fats into chakra," Dragon said. "This gives him more chakra to do his jutsu, whatever it may be."

"Dove has a jutsu that allows her access to someone's mind," Fox said. "It is special only to her clan." Harry stared at him in indignant disbelief. He had a vague suspicion that she had entered his mind before, and he actually twisted his head around to see if Dove was hiding anywhere.

"Excuse me," said Harry hotly and loudly. Ron and Hermione cringed at his side. Dragon looked over to him. Her eyes told him that she knew what he was going to say. "Dove's… jutsu gives her the ability to enter someone's mind, correct?"

"Correct," Dragon said, staring coolly at him. Harry glared at her.

"Don't you think it's an invasion of their privacy?" Harry asked. Dragon laughed mirthlessly. There was something creepy about the laugh. It was filled with ice and did not sound as if she was amused at all.

"When an enemy is about to kill your friends," she said, suddenly serious, "you do not wait and ask them whether or not you can go into their mind, do you? You have to attack, at any opportunity; otherwise you or your comrades may not live to see another sunrise… or sunset, for that matter."

The class shrank away from her, fearing the hostility her voice carried. Dragon and Harry continued their staring contest, both of them annoyed at the other. Hawk coughed, and Harry tore his gaze away. Dragon smirked at him through her eyes.

"Trust me, though," she said, "Dove is not here and she did not enter your mind before. Your thoughts were written across your face. It's like an open book. You should keep it closed."

"If you don't, enemies will now exactly what you're thinking," Fox said. "You should have a poker face."

"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it (5)," Raccoon murmured.

"Back to the subject," Hawk said, sighing. "We were talking about chakra and jutsu, if you would remember."

"Slug has super strength," Fox butted in. "She can punch through walls and whatnot with just one fist; like a monster!" Dragon glared at him. No doubt Dragon will report to Slug about what Fox had said, and he knew that he would regret it, but he couldn't resist.

"Yes, what Fox says is true," Hawk said. "She can pump chakra into her fist to enhance its offensive ability." He twitched as Malfoy made faces through the window, and Crabbe and Goyle sniggered like idiots.

_"I'll deal with those idiots,"_ Raccoon said. As Hawk continued talking, sand slithered silently under the door and over to where Malfoy and his cronies stood. Fox smirked.

Harry, who was getting decidedly irritated about Malfoy's annoying face against the glass, almost fell out of his chair when he saw the Slytherin boy shriek and disappear along with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Uh… what happened to Malfoy?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged, trying to look for him. The guards at the front acted as though nothing had happened, and they continued on in their lecture. The other members of the self defence club snickered quietly; Malfoy was not liked by any of them.

"I hope nothing bad has happened to him," Hermione said anxiously. Ron and Harry threw her disbelieving looks.

"Seriously, Hermione?" Ron said incredulously. "I'd _love_ it if something bad happened to him."

"Weasley-san, Granger-san, stop talking," Fox barked. The two of them jumped and quickly faced the front.

"Um, Fox, I think Malfoy… disappeared," Hermione squeaked out. Raccoon rolled his eyes.

"That idiot is of no concern to you," Raccoon said. "Now pay attention."

"Since wands are your primary weapons, we'll be focusing on them for your defence, but we won't be doing anything practical today," Hawk said.

Raccoon sighed, and said, "Look, we may not be very experienced ninja, but would you please still respect us and listen to what we say?"

Ginny and Ron, who had been the ones talking, blinked and looked at them guiltily.

"You're not the most experienced?" Harry said incredulously. Hawk cocked his head.

"We never said we were," Hawk said. Fox snickered.

"Where did you get that impression?" the ANBU captain laughed.

"We just assumed," Harry said, shrugging.

"We are more experienced than many of you, yes," Dragon said, "but we are not the most experienced ANBU team in our village. Heck, we are actually some of the most _in_experienced. This is actually our first time being put together in a big group like this for a mission, you know."

"Never would have guessed," Ron said under his breath.

* * *

><p>The trio were walking outside out of their self defence theory lesson to find a large crowd milling around the Entrance Hall.<p>

"What do you think is happening?" Ron asked. Being the tallest of the three, he stood on tip toe, and a grin spread across his freckled face.

"What is it?" Harry asked. His curiosity mounted and he craned his neck to see what the commotion was about. Hermione did the same.

"Harry, you've got to see this," Ron breathed. Hermione grabbed Ron's arm.

"What is it?" Hermione asked urgently. The crowded parted and the trio could properly see what was going on. Harry burst out laughing.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were tied to a suit of armour by a rope like dogs on a leash. Unfortunately for them, the suit of armour had an annoying habit of poking anyone that came too near it.

Face pink, Malfoy desperately tried to get away, but every time he undid the knot, sand would appear out of nowhere, pull him back and retie the rope around his arm. And the suit of armour would continue poking him, wheezing happily. Harry was sure, judging by the looks of pain on Malfoy's face, that the pokes were not gentle. The suit of armour had to poke Crabbe and Goyle twice as hard because of the layer of fat surrounding their body.

Stuck to ceiling directly above the unfortunate Slytherins were Fox and Raccoon. Fox's eyes twinkled, while Raccoon looked as bored as always.

"When are you going to let them go?" Fox asked. Raccoon shrugged.

"When I feel like it," Raccoon said quietly.

"And that would be when?" Fox said.

"When they have learned their lesson," Raccoon said.

"When would that be?" Fox asked.

"… I don't know." Fox chuckled at his friend.

"Here comes Dumbledore-san, you should let them go now," Fox said. Raccoon swept his eyes around and saw the headmaster sweeping through. He quickly undid the jutsu. The ropes binding Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle turned into sand and slithered away, leaving the three of them scrambling in the opposite direction.

"What's the hold up here?" Dumbledore asked, his lips curved up into a smile.

"We were – there was – there was a rope holding us to the armour!" Malfoy shouted. "It was the ninja! I swear it was!"

Dumbledore glanced over at the suit of armour, which glimmered innocently in the light.

"What rope are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked politely. Malfoy looked at the armour as well.

"It _was_ there, it disappeared when you came!" Malfoy said. Dumbledore's lips twitched.

"I see no rope," Dumbledore said.

"It was the ninja! The one that uses sand!" Malfoy said. Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm afraid you can't go accusing the guards without any proof like that, Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore said. He turned to the rest of his students. "Well, come now. Lunch is ready. Pip, pip!" (6)

Laughing, the crowd drew away, leaving a very pissed off Malfoy and his two buffoons.

_I'm gonna get my revenge,_ Malfoy thought. _Stupid guards, think they can get away with anything. I'll show them…_

* * *

><p>Sakura mended quickly enough, with the help of Madam Pomfrey and Dove. Jason had his memory replaced, but he still, somehow, felt a close connection to Slug. He wasn't sure, but he felt as though Slug was warmer to him than to other students. Mark Pilate was just happy to have his friend back, and Harry, Ron and Hermione never did figure out where Slug had gotten to.<p>

* * *

><p>Cat was sitting quietly in the Hufflepuff common room amidst the yellow wall scrolls. Dove was sleeping, and it was Cat's turn to stay awake. She wasn't particularly tired though; she merely stared moodily into the fire and thought about random things.<p>

Cat heard a faint sound behind her, and quickly sprang into position, her kunai out. She then felt very stupid, as it only turned out to be a little Hufflepuff first year. The girl had long brown hair tied in a French braid, stunning blue eyes and pale skin, and she was dressed in red checked pyjamas.

"Oh, hello," Cat said quietly. The little girl was halfway down the steps, and her eyes were wide and frightened as she looked at the kunai in Cat's hands. The ninja hastily stowed it away.

"Hi, Kitty," the little girl said shyly. "I'm Trisha."

Cat blinked at 'Kitty', and then realised that Trisha was referring to her.

"Um… my name is 'Cat', not 'Kitty'," Cat said. Trisha shrugged.

"But… I always call my cat 'Kitty'," Trisha said. Cat sighed and figured she could allow Trisha to call her 'Kitty', though she felt belittled. She patted the area beside her, signalling for Trisha to come and sit next to her, which she did.

"So… why are you up so late?" Cat asked. Trisha pouted, blowing her cheeks out. Cat's more maternal side suddenly surfaced, and she found it quite difficult to not scoop the girl into a hug and scream out, "You're so adorable~!" Thankfully, Cat managed to keep it under control.

"I can't sleep," Trisha said.

"Eh? Why not?" Cat asked. She cocked her head and stared at the girl. Trisha blushed and mumbled something unintelligible, even to Cat's trained ears.

"Pardon?"

"You're going to laugh at me!" Trisha blurted out. Cat chuckled softly.

"No, I won't," Cat said, and this time, Trisha heard the conviction behind the quiet words. Nevertheless, Trisha's blush deepened.

"Well… I'mafraidofthedark."

"Um… excuse me?"

Trisha took a deeper breath. "I'm afraid of the dark."

Understanding then dawned in Cat's eyes.

"Oh. Why?"

"I don't know! I'm just afraid of it! My friends all keep calling me a baby, but I really am scared of it!" Trisha's tone became defensive.

"How have you managed this past year?" Cat asked. Trisha shrugged.

"My friend has helped me," she mumbled. "She… she's really smart. She can light up her wand. And that little bit of light really helps me, but she's got a cold now, so she's too sick. She just wants to sleep."

"Ah."

"I'm afraid of the dark!"

"No need to get angry," Cat said gently. "I understand."

Trisha scowled. "How can you understand? You're a ninja. You're not afraid of anything. You're not _supposed_ to be afraid of anything. How can you understand how I feel?"

Cat sighed. "I understand… I might not be afraid of the dark, but I know exactly what being afraid means."

"H-how?"

"What I've seen, what I've done, I hope you will never experience it," Cat said. Her expression, though hidden, was dark, and Trisha saw the depth behind her words.

"But that's… different to being scared of the dark," Trisha said in a small voice.

"The dark _is_ a scary thing. But… I don't think you're afraid of the dark," Cat smiled.

"I am! I am afraid of the dark!" Trisha protested. "I hate it!"

_Well, at least she admits it,_ Cat thought. Out loud, she said, "No, you're not afraid of the dark. You're afraid of what _in_ it."

Trisha finally fell silent, and her frown deepened.

"Darkness is frightening. You don't know what you become in the dark. When you're scared, you become a different person. When you're scared, when you're desperate, when your hatred grows, when you fall into darkness, you'll do things you won't normally do." Cat thought about a certain Uchiha Sasuke, and then shook her head. "Well, what I'm trying to say is: when you're scared, you imagine things to be bigger than what they really are."

"I guess you're right," Trisha whispered. "Every time it's dark… I also see monsters… and creatures…"

Cat patted her head. "It's okay to be afraid."

Trisha contemplated for a little bit, and then said, "Kitty… you're a killer."

Cat inwardly winced at the blunt way Trisha said that.

"Yes."

"You're a killer," Trisha repeated, "and I know that… but why I'm not afraid of you?"

Cat was honestly surprised at the question. Why indeed…

"You're very quiet," Trisha observed. "And you're much gentler than all the other guards. The others… they have a type of – what's the word – brashness about them. Well, maybe excluding Birdy… he seems more… refined?"

"Birdy?" Cat repeated. Oh right, she was referring to Hawk. And how did this girl even know what 'refined' meant?

"Are you sure you're meant to be a ninja?" Trisha asked, startling Cat once again with a strange question. "You're too nice."

Cat simply gazed at her with a very complex expression on her face.

* * *

><p>"I'm too nice, eh?" Cat murmured. It was around midnight, and Trisha had managed to fall asleep next to Cat on the armchair. Dove cracked open an eye and smiled at the Hyuuga kunoichi.<p>

"Such a cute kid," Dove said.

"How long have you been awake?" Cat asked. Dove shrugged and stretched her arms.

"Since Trisha came down the stairs," Dove said. "I figured it would turn into a deep conversation, so I still pretended to sleep."

"Heh," Cat said, "tactful of you."

"So," Dove grinned, "apparently 'you're too nice' to be a ninja, eh?"

Cat smiled again, but this time, the smile was cold. If Trisha had seen it, she would have been surprised at the sudden change.

"Trisha is so innocent," Cat said. "I'm too nice… huh? I may have been nice in my genin and chunin days, but I have two sides to me now."

"Honestly, I prefer your nice side," Dove groaned. "Your 'war-mode' is too scary."

"Years and years of training; you can't hesitate in battle," Cat said. Dove smirked.

"And yet I still see you pausing for a millisecond before plunging a knife into the neck of an enemy," Dove said. "Honestly, Cat, you say you have two sides to you, but I really only see one side, and that one side is what makes my Hinata-chan."

"Don't say my name out loud," Cat hissed. Dove laughed quietly, and Trisha stirred.

"Don't change, Hinata," Dove said, strangely serious this time. "It's okay. You don't need to be a hardened warrior. Just be you: the shy, awkward maiden in love."

"Dove! I am _not_ like that! And stop saying my name!"

* * *

><p><span>Omake: <span>

"Hey, Buckbeak," Sirius said softly. The Hippogriff stared at him with one amber eye. Sirius sank into a deep bow, and after a second or two, Buckbeak bent his scaly front legs as well. Sirius gave the creature a wan smile and moved forward to pat him.

"How's it like, living in a small room like this?" Sirius asked. "Just like a prison, isn't it?"

He was well aware that he was talking to a Hippogriff, and that the Hippogriff couldn't answer back, but that didn't stop him. He was lonely in the House of Black, and Kreacher did not count as company. Buckbeak closed his eyes, apparently liking the scratching he was receiving. Sirius continued to murmur to the creature, and for a while, Buckbeak did not seem to listen, but then he opened his beady eyes again and stared at him, as though he knew exactly what the man was saying.

"You're in exile," Sirius said quietly, running a hand down Buckbeak's glossy neck, "just like me."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) That's only what Harry thinks. FoxNaruto is actually super thrilled that Sakura/Slug is back, but naturally he doesn't show it.**

**(2) Harry doesn't exactly know that Dove can enter his mind. When Dove entered his mind after his dream about Mr Weasley and the snake, he was too distracted to notice anything significant. He may have a vague suspicion, but that's mostly it.**

**(3) Quoted from Kiba in the manga. It was during the chunin exams, when Kiba, Hinata and Shino saw Gaara and his sand techniques for the first time. Gaara took out his sand to kill the shinobi from Sound (… I think it was Sound).**

**(4) Again, with the _Macbeth_, thing. I just had to put that in. That quote was from William Shakespeare's play _Macbeth_, and it was said by Lady Macbeth in Act 1: Scene 5. As I said before, our year was studying Macbeth when I was writing this.**

**(5) I realize that Dumbledore was being unfair to the students, but I couldn't resist making his response like that XP**

**So there you go: some student-ninja interaction, which, like in my other story, is seriously lacking in. I will be including more student-ninja interaction, as well as teacher-ninja interaction.**

**All my cute little Harry Potter OC's (namely Jason Fleance and Trisha… and I guess Mark Pilate as well) will continue to crop up every now and then~! Please remember them. I may be adding a few more random students as well X3 Yah, I know, you guys are all probably thinking, "OC's are evil!" But these students aren't going to be main characters! I need Hogwarts students to work with, you know? And they can't all be in Harry's year! Understand my reasons for having OC's!**


	15. Startled

***This is important, but it's also a spoiler to Naruto chapter 559: **

**Sooooo... I'm assuming that the person behind the orange mask is not Madara... but for the sake of this story, Uchiha Madara is the one wearing the orange-swirly mask, 'kay?**

**End important notice/spoiler***

**Thank you to the reviewers: Lupus-Cantus-Grimoure, Winged Wolfie Chibi, Scarlett Winds, Dimensional Roamer, MadnessLover, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Kyuubi No Tenshi, Furionknight, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Ichigo Mirai, DreamingOfSerenity, Tranquil-Chaos, tenshi-no-akuma-81, StarKiss666, Kyuubi-ismy-homie, Jadesilkmoon, Spider's Thread, The Silence is Deafening, virginger and carpathainlover247**

**And to carpathainlover247: I already posted the pairings up. It was in previous Author's Notes. You obviously didn't read them... Well... have you read this one? Ah well... we had some problems regarding people reading Author's Notes, didn't we?**

**My reviews dropped last chapter. Was it because of the Malfoy-torturing bit? Fine, then. I'm sorry I ever did anything to that annoying little creep. It won't happen again (I'm not promising anything, though. Kukukukuku).**

**Ah, and it seems like tomorrow is dear old Asuma-sensei's birthday XP**

**Chapter Fifteen: Startled**

* * *

><p>Fox had left Hawk and Cat in charge of doing some scouting around the area where Sakura and Jason had appeared. They had returned with news four hours later that there was "no trace of anything; not a chakra or magic signature found."<p>

"They just have to make life hard for us," Fox mumbled angrily. He stalked up and down the classroom which he was currently occupying, lost in thought, until the school bell rang, telling him that he needed to do some stalking regarding a certain boy named Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>With so much to worry about and so much to do – startling amounts of homework that frequently kept the fifth years working until past midnight, secret DA sessions, tiring lessons of self defence with the ninja and regular classes with Snape along with the Occlumency lessons – January seemed to be passing alarmingly fast. Before Harry knew it February had arrived, bringing with it wetter and warmer weather.<p>

The ninja had now been at Hogwarts for five months.

Suddenly, Valentine's Day had appeared, and Harry found himself facing an entire day in Cho's company. On the morning of the fourteenth, Harry dressed particularly carefully. Fox had smirked at him from his place in front of the fire as Harry came down, but Harry did not see.

_"Going on a date,"_ Wolf snickered. _"Ah, young love."_

_"You're young too, _and_ you're in love,"_ Stag pointed out.

_"Who, me? Nah, I'm an old man now,"_ Wolf said. Though it was said in a joking way, the ninja knew that despite their young appearance, they had all grown up fast; too fast for people of their age, seen death all too many times. They had grown up quickly, because growing up was the only way to protect yourself from the scary things in the world (1).

Fox got up wearily and went out to the Great Hall, instructing Raccoon to tail Harry for the day.

"He's on a date, so make sure you're hidden," Fox said. Raccoon's lips twitched slightly under his mask.

"When did you become so tactful?" Raccoon asked. "If I remember correctly, you used to be the most _un_-tactful person in the world."

Fox rolled his sky blue eyes and said, with a slight smirk in his voice, "Get out of here."

Raccoon followed Harry and Cho as they walked out of the castle and out of the gates. They mainly talked about Quidditch, and they seemed content before a gang of Slytherin girls passed.

"Potter and Chang!" screeched Pansy Parkinson, to a chorus of snide giggles. "Urgh, Chang, I don't think much of your taste… at least Diggory was good looking."

The girls sped up, talking and shrieking in a pointed fashion with many exaggerated glances back at Harry and Cho.

Raccoon snarled to himself, and once he saw the Harry and Cho were not looking in their direction, set off after the girls.

"You," Raccoon said in a dangerously low voice, planting himself in front of Pansy. The girl shrieked and jumped backwards. Raccoon advanced on her, his eyes steely.

"Don't you _dare_ bring up a dead person into stupid goading like that ever again," Raccoon hissed. "Do not taint his memory with your worthless tongue." And he left in a cloud of sand, leaving Pansy Parkinson opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. A big, ugly goldfish.

* * *

><p>To be precise, Harry's date with Cho was a disaster. The human hosepipe had left Harry in a ridiculously decorated teashop after he had refused to talk about Cedric. He had gone off to the Three Broomsticks, where Hermione had told him to meet her. There, he had found his bushy-haired friend with two of the most unlikely drinking partners: Luna Lovegood and the notorious Rita Skeeter.<p>

This was precisely where Harry was at this very moment. Of course, Raccoon was with him, but he had henged into some random sitting at a table near them.

"What are you up to?" Harry asked, sitting down and staring from Rita to Luna to Hermione.

"Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived," said Rita, taking a large slurp of her drink. "I suppose I'm allowed _talk_ to him, am I?" she shot at Hermione.

"Yes, I suppose you are," said Hermione coldly. Harry raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything.

Near them, Raccoon stared intently at the wall, looking as though he was some angry young man, but in reality he was listening to every word that was exchanged between them.

"I want you to write an article about the night Harry saw Voldemort return," Hermione said. Rita Skeeter spluttered when she heard Voldemort's name, and then, after she had recovered, eyed Hermione beadily.

"So you actually stick to it, do you, that He Who Must Not Be Named is back?" said Rita, lowering her glass and subjecting Harry to a piercing stare while her finger rested longingly to the clasp of the crocodile bag. "You stand by all this garbage Dumbledore's been telling everybody about You-Know-Who returning and you being the sole witness?"

"I wasn't the sole witness," snarled Harry. "There were a dozen odd Death Eaters there as well. Want their names?"

"I'd love them," breathed Rita, now fumbling in her bag and gazing at him as though he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Raccoon listened with interest as Harry started listing off the names of various Death Eaters. These names could help the shinobi in their mission greatly.

Rita started mumbling under her breath.

_"'Harry Potter Accuses…'._ And then a sub-heading, _'Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among Us'._ And then, beneath a nice big photograph of you, _'Disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know-Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing respectable and prominent members of the wizarding community being Death Eaters…'_"

Raccoon admitted that though the woman seemed to have caused Harry a lot of trouble in the past, she was a very passionate news reporter. That was probably how she got into trouble in the first place.

This time, as Rita Skeeter was muttering, the Quick-Quotes Quill was actually in her hand and halfway to her mouth when the rapturous expression on her face died.

"But of course," she said, lowering the quill and looking daggers at Hermione, "Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?"

"As a matter of fact," said Hermione sweetly, "that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect _does_ want."

Rita stared at her. So did Harry. Luna, on the other hand, sang 'Weasley is our King' dreamily under her breath and stirred her drink with a cocktail onion on a stick. Raccoon was rather impressed by the way Hermione had the strange reporter woman wound around her little finger.

"You _want_ me to report what he says about He Who Must Not Be Named?" Rita asked Hermione in a hushed voice.

"Yes, I do," said Hermione, "The true story. All the facts. Exactly how Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now and so on."

"The _Prophet_ wouldn't print it. In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional. Now, if you let me write from that angle –"

"We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles," said Hermione angrily. "We've had plenty of that already, thank you! I want him given the opportunity to tell the truth!"

"There's no market for a story like that," said Rita coldly.

Raccoon brushed his hair out of his eyes as Rita Skeeter and Hermione argued over their drinks, ending finally with Luna saying that her father would publish it, as he was the editor of _The Quibbler._ This had caused Rita Skeeter to snort so loudly that people at nearby tables looked around.

"All right," said Rita abruptly after a long silence. "Let's say for a moment I'll do it. What kind of fee am I going to get?"

"I don't think Daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine," said Luna dreamily. "They do it because it's an honour for them to see their names in print."

Rita Skeeter looked as though the taste of Stinksap was in her mouth as she rounded to Hermione.

"I'm supposed to do this for _free_?"

"Well, yes," said Hermione calmly, taking a sip of her drink. "Otherwise, as you very well know, I'll inform the authorities that you're an unregistered Animagus. Of course, the _Prophet_ might give you rather a lot of money for an insider's account on life in Azkaban."

Rita looked as though she would like nothing more than take the umbrella sticking out of Hermione's drink and thrust it up her nose. Raccoon smirked a little at the look on the ex-reporter's face.

"I suppose I don't have any choice, do I?" Rita said, her voice shaking slightly. She opened her crocodile-skin handbag once more, withdrew a piece of parchment, and raised her Quick-Quotes Quill.

"Daddy will be pleased," Luna said brightly. A muscle twitched in Rita's jaw.

"Okay, Harry?" said Hermione, turning to him, "Ready to tell the public the truth?"

"I suppose," said Harry, watching Rita balance the Quick-Quotes Quill at the ready on the parchment between them.

"Fire away, then, Rita," said Hermione serenely, fishing a cherry out from the bottom of her glass.

* * *

><p>Raccoon, of course, had reported to his captain about everything that went on in the Three Broomsticks that day. As he sat down for dinner in the Great Hall next to the blonde, Raccoon noticed that Fox was oddly tense.<p>

"What's wrong?" Raccoon asked.

"Sasori is in the wizarding dimension," Fox said. "But the letter that Tsunade-baa-chan sent me was torn in half, so I only received the top half. The bottom part is missing. That means someone has intercepted the scroll, though I don't know who or how. I received it just a minute ago."

"What did the top half say?" Raccoon asked. His interest mounted.

"Just that Sasori had left the ninja continent," Fox said glumly. "But it must have been important, because it looked as if Tsunade-baa-chan had written it in a rush."

"But scrolls from the wizarding world and the ninja continent are sent in a flash," Raccoon said. "There wouldn't be enough time to intercept a scroll moving that fast."

"That's exactly what worries me," Fox said.

"Were there any remaining chakra trails on the scroll?" Raccoon asked. Fox shook his head.

"No," he said. "The only thing I could read before it was cut off was, _'Sasori also has…'_ and then it was torn away. I sent another letter back, telling her to send me another copy," Fox said. "I just don't know why it's taking so long."

Raccoon sighed, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

* * *

><p>"Can't wait to see what Umbridge thinks of you going public," said Dean, sounding awestruck. He was sitting a few seats away from Fox and Raccoon. Seamus was shovelling down large amounts of chicken and ham pie on Dean's other side, but it was evident that he was listening.<p>

"It's the right thing to do, Harry," said Neville, who was sitting opposite him. He was rather pale, but went on in a low voice, "It must have been… tough… talking about it… wasn't it?"

"Yeah," mumbled Harry, "but people have got to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they."

"That's right," Neville said, nodding, "and his Death Eaters, too… people should know…"

Neville left his sentence hanging and he went back to his dinner. Harry spotted Cho Chang walking into the Great Hall, and his stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, but Cho did not look at him.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," Hermione said brightly, "What happened on your date with Cho?"

"Er… well, it was…" said Harry, pulling a dish of rhubarb crumble towards him and helping himself to seconds, "a complete fiasco, now that you mention it."

And he told her what had happened in Madam Puddifoot's teashop, to the silent amusement of Fox, who was listening in. Raccoon had left to go over and talk to Stag, who was sitting with the Hufflepuffs.

"… so then," Harry finished several minutes later, as the final bit of crumble disappeared, "she jumps up, says, 'I'll see you around, Harry,' and runs out of the place!" He put down his spoon and looked at Hermione almost desperately. "I mean, what was that all about? What was going on?"

Hermione glanced at the back of Cho's head and sighed.

"Oh, Harry," she said sadly. "Well, I'm sorry, but you were a bit tactless."

"_Me_, tactless?" said Harry, outraged. "One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davis asked her out and how she used to snog Cedric in the stupid teashop – how was I supposed to feel about that?"

Dove and Slug, who were sitting nearby, exchanged looks as Hermione told Harry all about the workings of a girl's mind.

"Clueless," Slug muttered, "so clueless."

"Yes, but the way Harry describes it, I would have been confused if someone said that to me," Dove said.

"True," Slug agreed. "Plus, Chang-san always seems to get worked up over Diggory-san. Every time I tail her class, she's always crying all over the place, in toilets, in the corridors, after classes."

"It's not easy to move on, though," Dove said softly. "If Wolf died, I wouldn't know what I would do."

"Yeah," Slug said quietly.

The two kunoichi lapsed into silence.

"But that is the life of a shinobi," Slug said finally. "We live alongside death. There's nothing we can do to change that. That's how different we are from these wizards and witches."

"But I do wonder… what it would be life to live a life such as these Hogwarts students," Dove said, looking around the Great Hall, "Nothing to worry about except for exams and your social life."

"Hey, we ninja have social lives," Slug said.

"Missions draw us together," Dove agreed. "More closely than anything else could."

"But it can also tear us apart," Slug said, taking the negative.

The two of them watched as a disgruntled Ron and Ginny entered the Great Hall, both splattered in mud.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked laying down her fork.

"Terrible," Ron grumbled.

"Oh come on, I'm sure if wasn't," Hermione said, looking over at Ginny.

"It was," Ginny said, glaring at her dinner. "Angelina was almost in tears by the end of it."

Fred and George went into the Great Hall as Ron and Ginny went off to take baths.

"We watched their practice," Fred said, sliding into the empty seat next to Harry. "They're going to be slaughtered. They're complete rubbish without us."

"I dunno if I even want to watch this game. If Zacharias Smith beats us I might have to kill myself," George said gloomily.

"Kill him, more like," said Fred firmly.

"That's the trouble with Quidditch," said Hermione, absentmindedly poking her fork at a shepherd's pie, "it creates all this bad feeling and tension between the houses."

She looked up to find Fred, George and Harry all staring at her with mingled looks of disgust and incredulity on their faces.

"Granger-san's got a point there," Dragon said, who was walking past. "It's only a game, isn't it?"

"You just don't understand Quidditch," said Harry, shaking his head. Both the kunoichi and Hermione exchanged exasperated looks, and both of them muttered, "Boys," under their breath simultaneously.

"I may not understand Quidditch," Hermione said darkly, "but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goalkeeping ability."

Dragon snickered and walked away towards Hawk, who was glaring at a couple of first year Ravenclaws.

"Why are you trying to murder them by staring?" Dragon asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Hawk glanced up at her, his pallid eyes annoyed.

"They're making too much noise," he said. Dragon rolled her eyes.

"Ah, if looks could kill," Dragon said.

"Oh, be quiet," Hawk said, turning back to his dinner.

"You can live with a bit of noise," she said, "stop being all moody."

Harry was just about to go up to the common room when the doors of the Great Hall opened, and silence fell as Dumbledore swept in, accompanied by a female probably in her late teens or early twenties. She had sandy blonde hair, which was held up by four pigtails. Strapped to her back was a giant iron fan.

Harry heard a tiny intake of breath beside him. The ninja were all staring in startled shock at the woman, Stag and Raccoon most of all.

"Temari?"

* * *

><p><strong>HA! BETCHA DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING! <strong>

**Woohoo! I get to do another cliff hanger! :DDD**

**I'm not saying anything about the next chapter, but I've got it all typed up and ready, just waiting for the time when I can post it XP**

**(1) I got that quote from a book called 'The Village of Stone', by Xiaolu Guo. I changed it a bit, the original quote was 'Growing up is the only way to protect yourself from the scary things in this world' or something along those lines.**

**You know what? Let's play the guessing game, but you can only play if you have read up to Naruto chapter 559. We're ****going to guess who's really behind the orange mask XD I think it's Uchiha Madara's brother. You know... the dude who's eyes he took? Uh, I think his name was Uchiha Izuna? Well, they said he later died in battle... but oh well XD We all thought Madara was alive, turns out he's dead. Who's to say it can't be the other way around?**

**Who do _you_ think is behind the mask?**


	16. Kidnapped

**My USB decided to go on a long journey for a while, and has just returned. I have been worried.**

**Translation: I lost my USB for two weeks and I just found it. I am extremely pissed and very relieved to find it.**

***Spoiler to Naruto chapter 562**

**OH MY GOD IT'S AWESOME. **

**There's been a lot of Gaara in the recent chapters, which makes me extremely happy (I'm a Gaara fangirl) and you have no idea how much it pleases me to see Naruto and Gaara working together. Hell yeah! But the last page of this chapter got me sooooo excited. ALL THE KAGE FIGHTING TOGETHER! **

**And we still don't know who 'Tobi' really is. CJWrites and I agree on one thing: Kishimoto is trying to stall.**

**End spoiler***

**Thank you to: DreamingOfSerenity, ChaosIdeals, Nadalada, virginger, tenshi-no-akuma-81, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Dark Neko 4000, Chibi-Chic, Holop, Ichigo Mirai, MadDogMatt13, Ranger Mitsuki, Winged Wolfie Chibi, SiriusBalisticPretzels, drinkwaterkora, Scarlett Winds, Ochibi, nightliliesu, MadnessLover, Heiwa-San, Sakebi Emily, The Shadow Moon, StarKiss666, SeanHicks4, furuba-suzume, verohey5, reven228, Ookami Sakura, chobits909, janet160, HypnoticFlames, Dark Lunar Love, evil-step-sister, juicebox14 and darkryubaby for reviewing.**

**It seems the cliffie and question at the end worked, though; there were some reviewers in here that I don't recognise. Yes, I do remember the pen-names of loyal reviewers. Don't judge me.**

**Hm. But it seemed people were more interested in answering my question last chapter than about the actual cliff hanger I left with Temari. Ah well. I'm sure you're all still wondering why our favourite Suna ninja (apart from Gaara) is here, yes?**

**Chapter Sixteen: Kidnapped**

* * *

><p>Stag stared at Temari. Temari stared at Stag. There was absolute silence in the Great Hall as the students looked at what had caused the quiet. Many of them were nudging their neighbours and pointing to the Sand kunoichi. Stag heard Ron mutter softly, "What the hell is with that stupidly gigantic fan?" but he ignored him. Stag merely locked gazes with the young woman opposite him. Then, Temari smiled.<p>

The reaction was immediate and fast. All the ANBU instinctively tensed and had whipped out kunai and shuriken. Raccoon's sand floated at the ready. Dumbledore was looking politely surprised by all the sudden hostility.

"You are not Temari," Stag said, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?"

Temari was still smiling. But it was a strange, cold curve of her lips. It was not her smile.

_"Dove, Dragon, get the kids back,"_ Fox said in a low voice. He never took his eyes off the kunoichi. The two of them gave him stiff nods and moved off.

"Hey now," Temari said. Stag frowned; it was her voice. It was Temari's voice. The voice he loved to hear. But it was not hers. "Why so tense? It's me, Temari."

"You are not Temari," Raccoon said. "Who are you?"

Fox motioned for Dumbledore to move away, which the headmaster did rather quickly. Temari did not even look at him; instead, she gave a shrill, freezing giggle.

"Fine, fine," she said. "You got me, though I didn't try very hard. You're right, I'm not Temari. I just pretended to be her so I could get into the castle without any hassle."

All the students and teachers had been gathered to the sides of the Hall, so that the house tables were empty except for the half eaten plates of food, and the ninja were isolated in the middle. 'Temari' took no notice of them. And then, before their eyes, 'Temari' began to grow taller. Her skin turned white, her hair shrunk, her teeth shrunk, until in her place stood White Zetsu.

"Zetsu… you finally show yourself," Fox hissed. "Where are the other Akatsuki members?"

White Zetsu smirked at him and raised an arm. Without hesitation, the shinobi threw kunai and shuriken at him with frightening accuracy. He deflected them all.

"Now, now," White Zetsu said, baring his bizarrely square teeth. "No need to get all worked up. I'm here for a reason, you know. It's about Temari and Michiko."

Stag froze in the middle of using his shadow jutsu, and beside him, his comrades stilled as well. His heart dropped to his stomach, and his mind began to go blank.

"What... are you talking about?" Fox said cautiously. White Zetsu gave him a smug smile.

"Stag, Raccoon," White Zetsu said. "Temari and Michiko have been taken hostage by the Akatsuki and Voldemort. The deal is this: give us the Kyuubi and Potter and we'll let the woman and her brat go. _If you agree to this proposition, meet us at the Shrieking Shack at midnight in three days. If not... well, who knows what might happen to those two."_ He said the last part in Japanese.

Stag's mouth dropped open. His limbs wouldn't obey him. Everything told him to go and throttle the damn Aloe Vera wanabe, but his heart was hammering too fast, and blood was pounding towards his head.

_Wait,_ said the rational voice in his mind, _where's the proof that your wife and daughter are missing? Zetsu could just be bluffing._

"Where's the evidence?" Dragon said quietly, voicing his thoughts. "How do we know you're not lying?"

Dragon had two scrolls out and she was in the process of summoning them, though she had stopped when Zetsu had said the words 'Temari' and 'Michiko'.

White Zetsu gave her an infuriating little smile. In his hand a photo appeared. He threw it in their faces.

Raccoon caught it first, glanced at it, and then said, "How do we know they aren't some of your little clones?"

Though his voice was calm, it shook slightly by what he had seen in the photo.

White Zetsu heaved a large, fake sigh.

"So picky," White Zetsu said. "They're not my clones. If you want to make sure, you can even send a letter to Konoha or Suna and they'll confirm that the woman and her brat are missing."

As if on cue, a wooden bird appeared in the middle of the Hall, and Fox caught it. He released the seal on the scroll, and as he read, his already narrowed eyes narrowed even more.

"The scroll confirms it," Fox said, his voice emotionless. No one reacted to that. His hand trembled as he controlled the urge to kill. At that moment, a falcon streaked in through the window. The bird was from Suna, and it was clearly from Kankuro. The first scroll must have been from Shikaku.

"Ah, and we also have this," White Zetsu said. His hand, which had been clenched into a fist, was curled open, and he tossed towards Stag something flashed in the air. Stag caught it, and he realised that it was Temari's hitai-ate. He knew it was hers because of the slight tear on the right hand side of the length of fabric. He accidently tore it when he requested that they spar together.

"And also this." This time, Zetsu threw over a gold bangle, which Raccoon caught. Raccoon (Gaara) had bought it for her when Michiko had been born. The bangle was a tiny little thing, small enough to fit a baby's wrist, and there was blood on it.

Raccoon, who was a normally stoic man, swore loudly and furiously. With a hiss, his sand charged straight at White Zetsu, which the Akatsuki member dodged. White Zetsu waved mockingly at the ninja, and he disappeared into the ground.

The shinobi had been too shocked to stop him, and when it was Stag's turn to look at the photo he almost punched the person closest to him.

Temari was slumped against the wall, her hair hanging around her face, lank and dirty. In her arms was Stag's six month old daughter, and Raccoon's niece, Michiko. Temari looked starved and beaten; purple and blue bruises decorated her body grotesquely. Michiko was awake in the photo, but she was looking around in a sort of quiet curiosity. In the background was Madara, and through his eye-hole it was clear that his Sharingan was activated.

"Fuck," Stag whispered, "those bastards."

Raccoon's sand swirled around him in agitation. His fists clenched and unclenched. Slug moved forwards and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"But, Temari is strong," Stag whispered. "How could she have gotten caught so easily?"

"Raccoon, Stag, calm down," Hawk said. Stag started in surprise as he realised that he had tried to punch something which ended up to be Fox, though Stag's fist had only connected to Fox's open palm. His captain was looking at him calmly, though his eyes promised bloody murder.

"We'll get them back," Fox swore, "I promise." He, surprising though it may seem, was extremely fond of Michiko, and had taken to the child the moment he first saw her, however brief that may have been. This, more than anything, calmed Stag down. He knew that when Fox, or Naruto, promised something, he would honour that promise even if it killed him.

The shinobi went off before the students could see the normally lazy Stag have a major breakdown. Slug tried to calm Raccoon as well, because she knew that he could very well just crush the first thing he saw with his sand in the state he was in.

Umbridge stepped forward, her small, plump frame quivering with barely suppressed rage.

"You have brought enemies into the school!" she screeched, pointing a finger at the group of ninja. "Your – your savage ways have jeopardized us! What if that – that _creature_ decided to kill all of us? What would you have done?"

Raccoon turned slowly, turning his dull-eyed glare on her. "Shut the hell up."

"How dare you speak to a Ministry official that way!" she said. Raccoon's sand reared up, promising to smash that 'Ministry official' into smithereens. Fortunately for the toad, Dumbledore stepped in.

"Calm down, Raccoon," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, yes, calm down!" Umbridge said, her voice still painfully in the higher octaves. Dumbledore turned to her.

"Dolores, may I ask that you calm down as well?" Dumbledore said quietly. Umbridge huffed snobbishly.

"When Cornelius hear about this…" she muttered venomously.

* * *

><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

_"Who's Michiko?" Harry couldn't help asking. He was just passing by, and had picked up on the conversation. Fox looked at the scarred boy._

_"My daughter," Stag said. He watched as shock flitted across Harry's face._

_"Oh," was all the boy could say. "How old is she?"_

_"Two months," Stag said. As Harry moved away, Stag sighed and mumbled a "troublesome" under his breath._

_END FLASHBACK_

Harry's eyes widened as he remembered who Michiko was. Judging from that information, Temari was Stag's wife. Before, Harry wasn't sure if he believed whether Stag had a daughter or not, but now, as he heard the worry in Stag's voice and saw the anxiety in Raccoon's body language, he was sure that Stag had not been joking. But why was Raccoon extra worried as well? Maybe this Temari was close to him or something.

"Michiko… who's Michiko?" Hermione whispered, staring at the back of a shaking Stag.

"She's Stag's daughter," Harry answered, "and Temari is his wife." He found it surprising that he could remember something that the ninja had told him four months ago, but right now he didn't really care. All that was on his mind right now was that Stag's family had been kidnapped because of him and this 'Kyuubi' dude.

Hermione had clapped her hand over her mouth, and Ron had looked shocked. Dove and Dragon let the students go back to their common room after making sure that the weird white man had really gone.

"He has a child?" Hermione said. "How old is she?"

"Right now, I think six months," Harry said. He may not really like the shinobi, but he still felt guilty that their families were in danger because of him.

* * *

><p>"I want four people to guard the castle tonight," Fox said, pacing the Gryffindor common room where all the shinobi were gathered. The students were quiet as they looked at the guards, perhaps with pity in their eyes? Even Fred and George were unnaturally silent. Hermione wasn't doing her homework either, but rather staring into the fire with some kind of distant look in her eyes.<p>

Stag was sitting with his head in his hands, trying to calm himself so that he could think up some kind of strategy to rescue his family, while Raccoon was letting off such a dangerous aura that nobody but Slug and Fox dared to go near him.

_Clear my head, _Stag thought. _Getting panicky now is not going to solve anything._

"I also want extra traps and whatnot placed outside each of the four common rooms," Fox said.

"We have three days to decide on what to do," Hawk said softly. "No more, no less."

_"He wants you and Potter-san,"_ Dove said. _"We can't let them have either of you."_

_"But they have Kisame, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, and even freaking Madara,"_ Wolf said. He was leaning against Akamaru, his arms folded tightly over his chest.

_"No doubt they will pull of some dirty trick,"_ Cat said. _"Though they didn't specify how many people could come to the exchange."_

_"No, they didn't,"_ Dragon said. _"This is a little bit strange. If they don't specify, then that means they are confident that they will win. They must have some kind of trump card."_

_"Shouldn't we discuss this with Potter-san?"_ Raccoon said, his voice carefully controlled. His sand was still trembling, though.

_"Yeah, the Akatsuki want him as well,"_ Stag said, speaking up for the first time. Fox turned around to Harry, who was sitting in an armchair and staring out the window.

"Potter-san," Fox called softly. Harry jumped, and as he looked over at the ninja, Fox could see guilt in his eyes. "Come here."

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, and then nervously made his way towards them.

"Yes?" he said.

"Sit down," Fox said. "This concerns you as much as it concerns us." Harry sat, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"The Akatsuki wants a trade in three days time at the Shrieking Shack at midnight," Fox said, taking charge. "They want a swap between the Kyuubi and you, and Temari and Michiko; two for two. It has been confirmed that they are in league with Voldemort."

"If you don't mind me asking," Harry began, "but who's Kyuubi?"

The ninja looked at each other. Fox opened his mouth a few times, and then closed it. Harry could tell that he had asked something extremely sensitive. Finally, Fox answered.

"Me," Fox said quietly. "They want me."

Shock jolted through Harry, but he did not dare ask why. Fox sighed, then said, "Come with us; we'll discuss this in Dumbledore-san's office. I'm sure the headmaster wants to hear this as well."

* * *

><p>Dumbledore sat behind his desk, observing them through his half moon glasses. The shinobi, strangely enough, were sitting down in chintz armchairs along with Harry, instead of standing up as they usually did.<p>

"Begin," Dumbledore said softly. Fox shifted, and he seemed to take a deep breath, though no sound was heard.

"In the ninja world, there are certain types of monsters with a certain number of tails," Fox began, his voice distant. "Essentially, they are nothing more than enormous masses of chakra, though these enormous masses of chakra have their own minds and are capable of thought.

"There are nine tailed beasts, ranging from the one tails to the nine tails. Because these beasts were, and still are, so powerful, they created chaos and wrecked havoc everywhere they went, and so the ninja made up a way to contain them. They sealed each of the nine beasts into nine different bodies, and the hosts are called Jinchuriki. Jinchuriki normally posses an unnaturally large amount of chakra, as they are able to siphon off the chakra of the tailed beast inside them.

"The Akatsuki want to collect all of the tailed beasts so they can combine them to form one massive mass of chakra, which will become the Ten Tails. But by taking a tailed beast out of its host's body, the host will die. Similarly, if the host dies while the tailed beast is still inside of them, both the host and the tailed beast will perish.

"I am the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, or the Kyuubi, and the Akatsuki are looking for me so they can extract the Kyuubi from my body."

Fox finished his short explanation, and Dumbledore looked at him for a long time. Fox waited, waited for Dumbledore to judge him, waited for Dumbledore to call him a monster, waited for Dumbledore to look at him in disgust as so many other people had during his lifetime.

"So does this mean you control the Kyuubi inside you?" Dumbledore asked. Fox was slightly surprised by the question but answered all the same.

"Somewhat," Fox said. "Though it takes time, a Jinchuriki will normally be able to control their tailed beast with practice. Kyuubi will not run wild here, I assure you."

"You give me your word that my students will not be in danger," Dumbledore said.

"My pride as a ninja," Fox promised. Dumbledore smiled.

"Very well," was all the headmaster said. Fox blinked.

"So… you don't hate me?" Fox said, incredulity in his voice. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I?" Dumbledore asked, bemused. "You assured me that the Kyuubi is under control."

"Yes, he is… it's just that…" Fox said, but trailed off. "It's just that… whenever I tell someone I'm a Jinchuriki…"

"They look at you like you're some diseased animal that will infect them," Raccoon supplied quietly.

"Yeah," Fox whispered. Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head.

Fox could hear his tense teammates relax as Dumbledore accepted him without any more questions.

"Alright, about the trade that the Akatsuki want," Dumbledore said. "Temari is Stag's wife and Michiko is his daughter, correct?"

"Yeah," Fox said, "and Temari is Raccoon's sister and Michiko is his niece."

"So Stag and Raccoon are brothers-in-law," Dumbledore said, glancing at the two of them.

"That's beside the point," Stag said, a touch irritably. "Michiko is only six months old, so I don't know how long she can last in that place."

"Don't forget, Temari is with her," Dragon reminded him. "Temari is strong; she'll look after Michiko."

No one mentioned the fact that Temari looked half dead in the photo that White Zetsu had given them.

"But… to kidnap a baby," Harry blurted out, speaking for the first time, "that's… kind of a desperate act, isn't it."

Harry was also a little annoyed at the fact that Dumbledore _still_ wasn't looking in Harry's direction.

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"I don't know what you wish to do," he said, speaking to the shinobi, "but I trust you all to do the right thing."

Fox frowned when he saw Dumbledore's obvious evasiveness of Harry, but did not say anything about it. He was sure the headmaster had his reasons.

* * *

><p>"Potter-san?" Fox said as Harry went up the staircase.<p>

"Yeah?" Harry said.

"Please do not tell anyone what you heard in Dumbledore-san's office," Fox said. Harry nodded.

"I won't," Harry said. After the boy had gone, Fox murmured a soft, "Thank you." Later on, Harry would swear to himself that he heard the captain say it, but then he would shrug it aside.

_I don't think Fox will ever be nice that way,_ Harry would think.

The next morning the Great Hall was still abuzz with the incident the night before.

The ninja had been more silent than usual, and nobody dared talk to them as they were letting off such stiff and vicious aura. During classes, they glared darkly ahead of them, not paying attention to anything, and they were prone to snap at anyone who was annoying them.

"Well, of course they would be like that," Hermione said matter-of-factly when Harry had told her about the guards' behaviour. "I mean, a child of theirs has been taken along with their wife, they're not going to be skipping around singing, you know."

"Yeah," Harry said softly, looking at the rigid back of Stag.

"But blimey," Ron muttered. "How old are they anyway?"

"Old enough to get married and have kids," Hermione said, turning the page of her Transfiguration book.

"Have they decided what to do yet?" Ron asked in a low voice. Harry shook his head.

"I don't think they know either," Harry muttered.

* * *

><p>Raccoon was in the Slytherin common room with Hawk. It was midnight. He was tired, but he did not wish to sleep. The fire crackled lower and lower, leaving the dungeon-like room cold.<p>

_Why did I leave Suna?_ Raccoon thought. _If I hadn't left, then Temari and Michiko wouldn't be in this mess._

Raccoon glared at the fire as though blaming it for the capture of his sister and niece. Tearing his eyes away, he idling began making shapes out of his sand. It had not been used for a long time since the ninja had not had time to spar lately.

_What are we going to do about the trade?_ Raccoon thought. _What am _I _supposed to do? _

"Raccoon," Hawk said quietly. Raccoon did not look at his comrade, but made a small noise to indicate that he had heard him.

"Stop blaming yourself," Hawk said. "It's not going to change anything, and in you'll just be more tired in the end." Raccoon did not say a word, but he dearly wished to Sand Coffin something.

_This is the Akatsuki's second move, and they start it with some disgusting trick,_ Raccoon thought.

"Raccoon, did you hear me?" Hawk asked. Hawk glared at the redhead so heavily that in the end Raccoon was forced to look at him.

"Yes."

"No, you didn't hear me," Hawk said. "You haven't processed what I said."

"I can't help but worry," Raccoon said flatly. "Even if you tell me not to worry, I will." Hawk sighed.

"I suppose that's true," he said softly. Raccoon stared at the green drapes decorating the common room before running a hand through his hair.

"I'm going to sleep," Raccoon said. "Good night."

Hawk watched the Kazekage through blank eyes, before muttering a soft, "Good night," in return.

* * *

><p>In the hideout of the Akatsuki, Voldemort and Death Eaters, a strange kind of excitement was brewing on the second floor.<p>

"Sasori," Kisame intoned. He grinned sharkishly **(A/N that's not even a word, if I'm judging by the red squiggly line under it)** at the puppet master. "The _onna_ and her _gaki_, where are they?"

"They're with Madara and Snakes Number One and Two," Sasori said, "and Kabuto." He had only arrived that day, and yet he had already made up names for Voldemort and Orochimaru. Orochimaru was 'Snake Number One' and Voldemort was 'Snake Number Two'.

"Seems like you did a good job back at that Warthog castle, mm," Deidara said, turning over to look at Zetsu with a curl of his lip. White Zetsu shrugged and smirked.

"It's Hogwarts," Itachi corrected softly. He turned black eyes towards Sasori. "When is he going to come?"

Sasori made a small, ambiguous noise. "He says in a month or two. He's not sure."

"Better prepare yourself, mm," Deidara grinned at Itachi. The Uchiha ignored him.

"How is he going to come?" Kisame asked. Samehada stirred at his feet. "I thought he was locked up, or is he breaking out?"

"Breaking out," Sasori said, his scorpion-like tail flicking above him. "How else?"

"Dunno. They could be releasing him," Kisame said.

"Him?" Deidara scoffed. "What village in their right mind would release a psychopath like him? Mm."

"They wouldn't," said a dark, eerie voice. The occupants in the room didn't appear surprised when Madara appeared, ghosting out from the shadows.

"Yo." That was Kisame.

"They wouldn't release him," Madara continued. "That's why he's breaking out."

* * *

><p><strong>Onna = woman<strong>

**Gaki = brat**

**I wonder who the Akatsuki are talking about (kukukuku)... I've always wanted to try foreshadowing, but I've never gotten the chance to XP**

**Ah yes, plotholes everywhere. Strange character moments. Well you know what? Suck it up.**

**I realised that if the timeline of this story is true, then that means Shikamaru and Temari had their child when they were about sixteen-seventeen and nineteen-twenty. I really did not plan this very well. I apologise for this. I did not mean for them to have a child so young T^T**

**I've been reading the Percy Jackson series, and I love it X3 Very awesome. I love the legends about the Greek gods and goddesses, and love it even more when the ancient world meets the modern. Yeah, those are the types of books I like.**

**I'm going to Supernova this weekend! I want to cosplay as a random Shinigami from Bleach, but the costume won't arrive on time =( BUT THE MERLIN ACTOR, COLIN MORGAN, IS GONNA BE THERE! (I watch Merlin. So what?)**


	17. Reunion and Revelation

**Damn, you guys are good. Most of you guessed the person in my foreshadowing. Why is that? Is it because Deidara looked at _Itachi _when he spoke?**

**OMG THE REVIEWS! THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Reviewers: Smoochynose, Spider's Thread, DreamingOfSerenity, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, WinxPossible, Kyuubi No Tenshi, The Shadow Moon, Nadalada, evil-step-sister, virginger, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Winged Wolfie Chibi, MikotoTsubasa213, Scarlett Winds, HypnoticFlames, ThePurpleSuperCow, StarKiss666, furuba-suzume, Ichigo Mirai, Dark Neko 4000, ladyyuuki16, tenshi-no-akuma-81, verohey5, Rigoudon3, TemaxShika forever, an anonymous reviewer, and totalawesomness13 who for some reason could review twice o_O but never mind, I'm happy XD**

**Extra thanks to these four: **

**The Shadow Moon: for giving me a heart attack because I thought it was a flame. When I first saw it, I was like, "Holy shit, this is going to be bad."**

**SiriusBallisticPretzels: for giving me another heart attack directly after 'The Shadow Moon', also because I thought it was a flame.**

**Winged Wolfie Chibi: the review; I only half braced myself this time for the expected 'flame', which didn't turn out to be a flame after all...**

**And an anonymous reviewers by the name of MikotoTsubasa213: I also thought this was a flame... I'm really edgy, aren't I? But I loved the review, so thank you very much~! (Hopefully you're reading this)**

**I thought all of these reviews were flames, firstly because they all started on something I thought equalled 'major grilling and plot-hole-pointing-out-ing', and secondly because of the length (you know how flames are always long?). Especially on SiriusBallisticPretzel's review... I almost died with happiness after getting over the shock.**

**I think Percy Jackson is getting into my head. One time, my friend said something, and I thought she said 'Medusa', and I got all energized for no reason. Another time, when I was at the movies, I got excited in the toilets because a hand dryer said 'Apollo' on it, which I presume is the company name.**

**Chapter Seventeen: Reunion and Revelation**

* * *

><p>"Alright, are you ready?" Fox asked. His team nodded silently, and Fox took a deep breath. "Let's go."<p>

It had been three days since the encounter with white Zetsu, and the ninja had decided on what to do. Harry was also with them, feeling oddly out of place in the darkness. The ninja and the wizard were outside the Hogwarts castle and heading down to Hogsmeade to the Shrieking Shack.

Harry felt rather self conscious as he saw that the shinobi were accustomed to darkness, blending in perfectly with the shadows and looking as though they were born from it. He, on the other hand, walked loudly down the path, no matter how quiet he tried to be. He didn't know how the guards did it, but they were strangely silent, as though someone had turned off the volume on them. It was quite bizarre, but they look majestic, as though they were the absolute rulers of the night.

"I still don't understand what we're going to do," Harry said softly. His own voice sounded loud to his ears. He started feeling the fear – which had been sleeping inside him until this moment – starting to rear its head. Something worse than butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins; his muscles were tense, ready to bolt at any particular moment.

"Don't worry, you won't be in danger," Dragon assured him quietly, though still rather cheerfully. "Just leave it to us."

The group walked down the moonlit street of Hogsmeade, which looked peculiar when empty. Harry was used to it being full and bustling, with the shops all ablaze and laughter emitting from inside. They walked to the end of Hogsmeade, where the Shrieking Shack stood. Harry checked his watch in the dim light. Eleven fifty five.

Harry's heart leapt to his mouth when he saw the outlines of figures in the dark. There were two of them as far as Harry could tell. The ninja walked up boldly until there were about ten metres of distance between them.

Harry saw a man with blonde hair with half of it tied up and a grin on his face. The second Harry recognised as Zetsu, although now he was half white and half black. They were both wearing the black cloak with red clouds. Harry swallowed, feeling good bumps suddenly appear on his flesh. These people were dangerous. The things flying around in his stomach started buzzing about agitatedly.

"Just on time," the man with the blonde hair said. "And you brought the Potter brat with you as well, mm."

"Good," Zetsu said. "Let's do the swap." Strangely enough, it only looked like the white half was talking.

"Where are Temari and Michiko?" Stag asked coldly. Zetsu laughed.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Zetsu said. Wait… was it just him, or was only the white part of his face talking? "Here you go." He turned around and bent over, and when he faced them again, Harry saw a woman slung over one hand and a baby in the other. The woman, Temari, had the same appearance as the one he saw in the Great Hall three nights ago, except this one was covered in bruises and scratches, some of them bleeding heavily. The baby, on the other hand, looked quite healthy. She was sleeping, nestled up in a dirty wrap of blankets.

"Temari," breathed Raccoon, "Michiko."

"One thing," Fox said, stepping forward, his eyes trained on the hostages. "We're not giving up Potter-san. You can take me, though."

Harry's head snapped around to stare disbelievingly at the ANBU captain.

"Wait, wha-" Harry began to say, before Dove stepped on his foot. Zetsu and the blonde man looked mildly unpleased.

"Ah, we don't care, as long as we get the Kyuubi," the blonde man said, shrugging. "The boy means nothing to us. That Voldemort dude is the one who wants him. Though I don't know why that arrogant prick didn't show up tonight, mm."

"The blonde one is named Deidara," Dove whispered into Harry's ear. Harry wasn't particularly sure why she was telling him this, but he appreciated it all the same.

"But then," Deidara said, smirking slightly, "that wouldn't make us very good allies, would it? If you do not swap the Potter kid, then you only get the _onna_ back, mm."

Harry saw Dove look anxiously at her captain. He had a vague feeling why Fox only wanted to trade himself. Fox was a ninja, and from what Harry had heard, ninja could withstand most kinds of torture. Harry was a wizard; he would not be able to survive for long, though he was sure that Voldemort would not let him anyway.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he swore he could make out a thin mark against Michiko's forehead. It looked like a cut. It looked very recent, because it was still oozing blood. Evidently, the other ninja had seen it as well, because their body language changed completely. They were angry.

Fox gave Harry a fleeting look, before turning to the Akatsuki again.

"Begin," Fox said, quite calmly. Harry wasn't sure what he meant, but then, suddenly, Harry was thrown against the wall of the Shrieking Shack, hitting the back of his head. He heard a clang of metal and loud shouts.

"Bastards, mm!" Deidara yelled.

"You're the bastard, bastard," Fox hissed. He leapt forward, immediately engaging in combat.

Harry tried to erase the stars popping up in front of his eyes, and when he did, he saw that Deidara's hand _had a mouth on it_. Revolted, Harry looked on with disgusted fascination as Deidara threw something at them, which then promptly exploded. Harry became acutely aware that Slug and Dove were standing in front of him with their arms outstretched, keeping Harry from harm.

"Stay calm, Potter-san," Slug muttered, keeping a careful eye on her comrades, and, more importantly, her enemies. "This won't take long."

Dragon quickly summoned her weapons and directed them at Zetsu, who looked around. Sparks flashed as they were deflected with a kunai Zetsu had produced, and he turned his creepy eyes towards her.

_Zetsu is not a combat type of ninja,_ Dragon thought. _I should be able to hit him_.

Harry heard a shriek pierce the night air. He looked around wildly for the source of it, and saw Dragon slumped on the ground. She had a few kunai embedded into her back, and Hawk darted forward to pick her up out of harm's way.

"What the _fuck _is Itachi doing here?" Fox shouted. Harry's head turned, and he saw another ninja, this time with black hair and bloody red eyes, standing in the shadows.

"You just didn't notice him," White Zetsu said, shrugging. The pale form of White Zetsu melted into the ground and then rejoined with its black half. Harry wondered at the back of his mind whether the shopkeepers of Hogsmeade would wake up because of the noise. Somewhere, Michiko started crying.

"Don't look at him," Hawk snarled. He laid Dragon near Harry, and then sped off to confront him. Hawk's thoughts immediately flashed to his teacher, Gai-sensei, and what he had told him when fighting against an Uchiha.

_Never look into their eyes._

Shuriken spun giddily towards Itachi, but mere ninja tools couldn't make a mark on him.

_Byakugan!_

Deidara, meanwhile, was on the back of a giant flying bird made out of clay. A furious expression contorted his face, and he continually threw bombs at the ninja below. Raccoon was attempting to stretch his sand all the way up to get a hold on the ex-terrorist bomber, but Deidara hovered just out of reach.

Wolf and Akamaru, who had taken Dragon's place, were trying to hit Zetsu with Gatsuga along with Fox. Zetsu kept grinning idiotically and disappearing into the ground. Temari and Michiko were lying where Zetsu had left them. Cat and Stag were slipping around the battles, using the shadows as cover and gliding closer to the hostages. Michiko was still crying, but her voice was lost in the noises of the fighting.

Zetsu detected them from the corner of his eyes, but before he could split himself, he paid for his half a second distraction as Wolf and Akamaru rammed into him using Gatsuga. Zetsu gasped and reeled over, lying on the ground, his face blank.

Raccoon had finally managed to wrap his sand around the wing of Deidara's bird and he crushed it, hatred evident in his eyes. He watched Deidara free-fall without giving him another thought. As Deidara fell, Raccoon unexpectedly saw that one of Deidara's arms was sewn on; he could see the stitch marks. It must have been from the time when Deidara came to capture Raccoon in the Suna. Raccoon had mashed up Deidara's arm in that battle. Raccoon did not know why he suddenly noticed that fact, but he did.

Unfortunately, though Raccoon had heard that Sasuke and Deidara had fought later on, the Uchiha had not been able to kill the terrorist bomber (1).

Stag darted forward and picked up his wife while Cat gently held his daughter.

"Fox!" Stag shouted. "Let's go!"

Hawk gritted his teeth, and, against his will, turned his back towards Itachi, hoping against hope that Itachi wouldn't try and spear him or anything. Of course, a ninja would never let an opportunity like that get away, and so Hawk found a shuriken sticking out of his shoulder blade as he left.

Fox glanced over and saw that Temari and Michiko were safely, before calling his comrades away. Hawk picked up Dragon bridal-style, gritting his teeth against the screaming pain his shoulder was giving him, and body flickered towards safety.

_Run._

The ninja ran, blurring until they were pretty much invisible, through Hogsmeade and up to Hogwarts. Harry himself had not known why he was travelling so fast until he realised that Slug was carrying him on her back. How he got there, he didn't know.

"They will not follow us into the school," Fox said. "Though he is a wizard, Dumbledore-san is very powerful, more powerful than we have been lead to believe." Dimly, Harry heard Zetsu talking as they ran back to the castle, although there seemed to be two different voices.

"Ahahaha, they took the _onna_ and the brat. We're not very good guards, are we?"

"It's not funny!"

* * *

><p>"Hogsmeade village suffered a lot of damage," Dumbledore said calmly. Fox cringed as he stood in front of the headmaster's desk. Sometimes, he felt like he was back in the Academy and was being scrutinised by Iruka. There was also the feeling of knowing that you're going to get lectured, and you're just waiting for it as the lecturer in person stretched out the punishment.<p>

"Ah, about that… sorry," Fox said lamely. "We had to kind of… go all out."

"I realise that," Dumbledore said. He pressed his fingers together, and then, shockingly enough, he smiled faintly. "No matter, though. It has been fixed with magic, so all's well."

Fox breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Were any of the residents injured in the aftermath?" Fox asked. "I know that we left Zetsu, Itachi and Deidara on a raging rampant. Well, probably not Itachi…"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It seems as though they disappeared right after you all managed to escape."

"Alright," Fox said. He was frowning now.

"You may leave," Dumbledore said. The ANBU captain did so.

* * *

><p>Temari opened her eyes blearily. She immediately saw a strange ceiling, and breathed in the smell of disinfect. Gasping, she shot up so quickly that someone nearby shrieked. Temari glanced around and saw a bustling woman who looked as though she was a nurse.<p>

_A nurse?_ Temari thought. _Wait, is this a hospital?_

She looked around, and saw that her guess had been correct. She realised that she was lying on a crisp, clean bed with white sheets and pillowcases.

_Where am I?_ Temari wondered.

_"Excuse me, where am I?"_ she asked the lady. The nurse gave her a puzzled look.

"I'm afraid I don't understand you, dear," said the nurse. Temari frowned at the unfamiliar words that tumbled out of her mouth. A familiar cry jolted her out of her confused thoughts.

_Michiko!_ Temari thought in relief. Without thinking, she hopped out of the bed and looked around for the source of the noise. Michiko was right next to her in a crib, and Temari quickly scooped her up, relief washing through her like a soothing balm. Dimly, Temari noticed that all her injuries seemed to have healed; she could move without feeling pain. She looked at Michiko lovingly, but then her eyes narrowed when she saw a thin white scar marring her daughter's otherwise perfect face.

_"What the hell…?"_ she hissed.

* * *

><p>"Stag, you can go and visit Temari now," Fox said. Stag nodded and got up from the Ravenclaw table. It was Thursday, and the shinobi had gotten back at Hogwarts only twelve hours earlier, though they had to act normal and go to their regular shifts. Though Fox had allowed Stag to stay by his wife's side, Stag had said that he would do his normal duties first.<p>

"Pomfrey-san will call me if Temari or Michiko wakes up," Stag had said. He had desperately wanted to stay with his family, but he had seen how tired, worn out and exhausted his comrades looked, and knew that if he left then it would be more work for them. Before Stag had taken a step, however, a familiar voice made him look quickly towards the great oak doors.

"Shikamaru!"

The students quieted down as they saw, once again, the same woman that had come a few days previous, though this time, her face was warmer. Heart hammering, Stag looked at the face he loved so much, which was now staring directly into his, and sighed a silent sigh of relief.

"Idiot, what are you stalling for?" Fox muttered, pushing him towards Temari. "She's waiting."

* * *

><p>Harry looked up from his lunch as he heard someone call out, "Shikamaru!" Wondering who the hell Shikamaru was, Harry turned his gaze towards the entrance of the Great Hall.<p>

"Oh," Hermione whispered. Stag was walking towards the woman with four pigtails and wearing a headband around her head. Her eyes were narrowed, and her face was stern. She wore a black kimono with slits along the sides and a red sash. Like the last time he saw her, she had a giant iron fan strapped along her back. Unlike the last time, her upper right arm had bandages wrapped around it, and her face had a faint shadow over it; massive bruises along her cheeks. Right behind her was Cat, and in her arms was a sleeping baby.

Stag had reached the woman, and from behind, Harry could see that his shoulders were shaking. He then pulled her into a tight embrace, gripping her as though he would never let go.

_"Temari…"_ Harry heard Stag whisper. Temari looked exasperated, but when she returned his hug, he saw tears sparkling in her eyes. _"Temari…"_

As Harry watched the reunion between husband and wife, he suddenly realised that, like everyone else, the ninja had feelings. They may act cold hearted and cruel, but they could never bury their emotions completely. They would always resurface at the most difficult of times. Stag was proving this right now. The shinobi talked of killing easily, they talked of taking one's life as though it was nothing, but they still had their precious people. They still had the people who they loved, who they laughed with, who they cried with. No matter what was said, the ninja were still human.

When Temari and Stag pulled away, Stag glanced at his captain, who gave a tiny nod, and then Stag took a deep breath, put a hand to his mask, and pulled it off. The watching students gasped in shock when they saw his face.

"He's so young," Ron whispered, his eyes huge. The guard, who was known as Stag, took no notice of the watching students and pressed his lips to Temari's. Fox rolled his eyes and smirked.

_"Guess it's show time,"_ Fox murmured. Raccoon 'tch'ed at Fox's comment. One by one, all the guards removed their masks.

"Dumbledore-san, teachers, students," the blonde said, breaking the silence that enveloped the Great Hall. "May we re-introduce ourselves?"

Dumbledore, who was watching the quiet reunion, looked at the ANBU captain and nodded. The ninja all lined up in front of the High Table, including the now mask-less Stag. Cat handed Temari her child and darted over to where her comrades stood. The ANBU captain stepped forward, grinning brightly.

"Fox, otherwise known as Uzumaki Naruto (2)!" A blinding white smile and sunny expression. Harry blinked at the sudden change in personality.

"Raccoon, otherwise known as Gaara." A stoic face and unamused eyes.

"Slug, otherwise known as Haruno Sakura." A cheerful wave.

"Cat, otherwise known as Hyuuga Hinata." A polite bow and a shy smile.

"Hawk, otherwise known as Hyuuga Neji." A noble air and a proud face.

"Stag, otherwise known as Nara Shikamaru." A lazy yawn, but warm eyes.

"Wolf, otherwise known as Inuzuka Kiba." A feral grin and bright red triangle tattoos.

"Dove, otherwise known as Yamanaka Ino." A giggle and then a peace sign.

"Dragon, otherwise known as Tenten." A sweet laugh and a wave.

Then, they all bowed, some lower than others. The Great Hall was still silent. The students were frowning, looking at the bruises and injuries that decorated the guards' faces, evidently from the night before, though they didn't know that. The teachers were staring at the ninja as though they were aliens, but Dumbledore had a small smile that graced his lips.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru was holding Michiko, who had woken up and was gazing around with bright teal eyes. Gaara was with Temari, quietly asking her questions about her well being. The ninja were in an empty classroom, everyone fully healed by Sakura and Ino. They had discarded their masks, but still kept the rest of their ANBU armour, as they would for the rest of the year.<p>

"How are you guys going to get back?" Hinata asked. Temari glanced around and grinned at the Hyuuga girl before her face became serious again.

"No idea," Temari said. "When Sasori captured me, he took me through some sort of portal. I don't really remember much of it; I was kinda knocked out," she added sheepishly.

"Portal?" Kiba repeated, frowning. "What portal?" Temari shrugged.

"No idea," Temari said. "But then, what did you guys use to get here?"

"We used a Portkey," Ino said, "but it's a very rough ride, certainly not fit for a baby." Temari gave a frustrated sigh. The door opened and Dumbledore swept in, eyes twinkling as usual. He greeted everyone before turning to the Suna kunoichi.

"Do not worry about transportation back to the ninja continent," Dumbledore said, as if he had overheard everything. "I have arranged for some special means. When do you wish to leave?"

"Tonight will be good," Temari said without hesitation. "After all, I just intruded upon a mission here, so I better get going as soon as I can."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. He turned to Naruto, who was letting Michiko grab hold of his pinkie with a small smile on his face, and then to Temari. "Miss Temari, would you like to join us for dinner before leaving?"

* * *

><p>"Albus. Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said through gritted teeth. She stood in the headmaster's office while he sat behind his desk, his eyes twinkling happily.<p>

"Yes, Minerva?" he said cheerfully, as though he hadn't the slightest clue as to why she was so furious. They weren't alone, however. Other members of staff, such as Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Snape, Hagrid and a few others were present as well. Naruto was there, representing his entire ANBU team. Overall, Dumbledore's office was very crowded, but somehow, they could all move freely. Perhaps it was the magic in there. The only teacher missing was Professor Umbridge, but no one was concerned about her.

"You hired nothing but mere children to protect Hogwarts and its students," Snape said, his voice lethally smooth. His black eyes flickered over to where Naruto stood behind Dumbledore.

"They are not children," Dumbledore said calmly. "They are ninja."

"They are only seventeen!" Professor McGonagall exploded. "Seventeen years old! They are the same age as the seventh years, Dumbledore! How do you expect them to guard the castle?"

"Ah, some of them are eighteen, and one of them are nineteen already," Dumbledore corrected quietly. None of the teachers paid attention to that.

"How do you expect them to go against You-Know-Who, for that matter," Professor Sprout said from her corner.

"They seemed a bit older when they were under their masks," Hagrid said, shrugging. There were rooster feathers on his clothes, as well as in his wiry black hair.

"They cannot guard Potter, they are much too young," Professor Sinistra said sharply. "They are only two years older than him."

"Hear, hear," Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"They have been doing a fine job for the past few months," Dumbledore said. "I do not understand why that by simply removing their masks, they have suddenly become incapable of the task."

The teachers seemed not to hear him and continued to voice their protests, and Dumbledore sat there with his eyes closed, waiting patiently for silence. Naruto, however, didn't have much patience anyway, and he hated it when people underestimated him.

"Everyone," he said slowly. Nobody listened to him, "EVERYONE!"

The teachers jumped and glanced over to where the ANBU captain stood. His sky blue eyes were deathly cold, and his voice was frozen as he spoke his next words.

"Do not baby us," Naruto said, glaring icily at all of them. "We are not children to coo over or be taken care of. We can look after ourselves, the castle _and_ Potter-san. That was what we were hired for. Don't make the mistake of underestimating us like so many of our other enemies. You think Voldemort is bad? The Akatsuki are just the same as him, maybe even worse. They are much stronger, more powerful, and their group is made up of _six_ rogue nin who are all wanted criminals in the Bingo Book under the rank of S."

Dumbledore then chose to open his eyes at this moment, and he coughed to get all their attention.

"What Mr Uzumaki means," he said, looking at his fingers, and lips threatening to curve into a smile at Naruto's outburst, "is that he wants you all to trust the shinobi to do the job they were hired for. Don't doubt them; it will be offensive and they won't like it."

The teachers remained silent, all staring uncertainly at Naruto.

"May I leave?" Naruto asked Dumbledore quietly. The headmaster nodded, and Naruto bowed to him before body flickering out the door.

* * *

><p><span>Omake:<span>

Kiba's eyes widened and he said, out of very strained lips, "Ino… I am so sorry."

Ino struggled up from the ground and hissed at him.

"You hit me there." Her voice was cold. "You actually _dared_ to hit me _there_." The sentence was said in a deceptively calm and slow tone of voice.

"I am so sorry," Kiba said again, not knowing what else to say. "It was an accident."

The two of them were doing some much needed training on the Quidditch pitch. After two hours or so of sparring, something... happened. And now Kiba was facing a very pissed off Ino. It was kind of funny to see the wild and tough dog nin look so scared. Akamaru whimpered.

"If you hit a girl in the chest," Ino said through gritted teeth, "she'll kick you in the balls."

And then she charged at him.

* * *

><p><strong>Onna = woman (in case you don't remember)<strong>

**(1) I changed this from the manga. Gaara is referring to the Sasuke-Deidara battle that (in the manga) ended with Deidara's death. In this story, Deidara DID NOT die.**

**(2) Notice how Naruto's dialogue is the only one with an exclamation mark? XP**

**So, this is the moment you've all been waiting for. The reactions of the rest of the school and stuff will be addressed in the next chapter, when all this business is cleaned up XD**

**Yay! I get to foreshadow again~! Take notice of the portal bits and the transportation that Temari is going to use (the clue is that it's gentle enough for a baby). You won't know what they are talking about till about chapter twenty five XD**

**Here's a little story from a part of my life:**

**My French teacher asked me how to say _'I wait for half an hour in the waiting room.'_**

**I wasn't listening, so when she asked me that, I was like, "… Uh… Paris?"**

**And my teacher was like, "Er… no. How do you say _'waiting'_?"**

**And I said, "… Um… _consigne_?" Which is French for 'left luggage' or 'luggage room'. **

**She gave up on me after that.**

**Yeah… behold my awesome French speaking skills… **


	18. A Goodbye, an Interview and a Vision

**Okay, so a reviewer has asked me (not really) about why Temari and Shikamaru had a kid so young. The reason is that ninja die pretty early on, and so they'll probably have kids earlier as well, lest they die during one of their missions. If they have kids later, then they'll probably get killed before they could even get married and all that, and the village's population will go down. Yes! I get to use that little excuse that various other reviewers have cooked up for me!**

**Also, remember that even though the original Naruto storyline told us that Madara isn't really Madara, Madara is Madara in this story, yes? That is, the man in the mask, previously known as 'Tobi', is Madara in _To Be Different_.**

**Thanks to the reviewers: Spider's Thread, ladyyuuki16, The Silence is Deafening, nightliliesu, ZabuzasGirl, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Winged Wolfie Chibi, The Shadow Moon, MadnessLover, Ice Vixen X, Nadalada, Ichigo Mirai, virginger, HypnoticFlames, Smoochynose, ShikaXLover, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, furuba-suzume, StarKiss666, MikotoTsubasa213, drinkwaterkora, CalcBoy91, SiriusBalisticPretzels, itachi-sasuke4ever, Tranquil-Chaos, totalawesomness13, HatchetChu, SasuHina4evr, BloodKitsune11, tenshi-no-akuma-81, PokeKid 25, Sparkstorm57 and Scarlett Winds**

**And to Mage Of Beginning, I have explained what is going with the Akatsuki and the World War via Author's Notes. If you haven't gathered, some Akatsuki members are still alive but miraculously the Allied Nations won the war (I don't know how; they just did). I don't mind people pointing out plot holes, and I'll tell you if I'm going to fill them up later on, but please don't write it in such a rude review.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Naruto and Harry Potter belong to me! Muhwahaha! **

***Police kick down the door***

**I WAS JUST KIDDING GODDAMMIT!**

**Naruto and Harry Potter _do not_ belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K Rowling respectively *grumbles on about how some people can't take a joke***

**Chapter Eighteen: A Goodbye, an Interview and a Vision**

* * *

><p>Temari had returned home about a week ago after bidding goodbye to her friends, husband and brother. None of the students were aware of anything that happened during the night of the 'exchange'. In fact, they didn't even <em>know<em> it happened. The only people who knew were Harry, Ron, Hermione, the shinobi themselves, some teachers and Dumbledore.

"Come back alive," Temari had growled into Shikamaru's ear before giving him a swift kiss. Naruto had snickered at that before the Suna kunoichi fixed him with a glare.

"Take care of him for me," Temari had commanded. Naruto meekly complied.

"Gaara, don't go off on a killing spree," Temari had said to her brother. Gaara had rolled his eyes, and though his expression didn't change, his lips tweaked upwards a few millimetres. He shifted his neck, as though it was stiff, and allowed Temari to give him a hug. The others crowded around Temari and Michiko, wishing them well. Tenten, though a very proud kunoichi, bore no grudge against Temari about their battle in the chunin exams. She wished Temari and Michiko luck as well, before Dumbledore took them to them to a private room, and they went back to the ninja world.

* * *

><p>February gave way to March…<p>

* * *

><p>At dinner one night, Kiba grinned and looked at all the food laid out in front of him.<p>

"When I was in that mask, I couldn't enjoy the food properly," Kiba said. "Now, with that annoying mask off, I can." Ino, who was sitting next to him, rolled her eyes and bit into a loaf.

"Then eat already and shut your trap," she muttered. "Wait, Kiba, Kiba! Don't give Akamaru that whole chicken!"

"Eh?" Kiba said, tossing the chicken towards the huge dog, who promptly grabbed it and started wolfing it down, "Why not?"

"Other people want to eat it as well, and I doubt that it's healthy for Akamaru to eat all that. It's covered in oil," Ino said.

"So? There are heaps of other pieces of chicken for them," Kiba said nonchalantly, gesturing towards the table. Ino slapped her forehead.

"Dammit, Kiba! You eat so much!"

"Says the girl who has an Akimichi clan member for her teammate."

"He's not here, so right now, you're the monster eater."

"What? Why are you picking on the people who like to eat anyway? I'm a growing boy."

"You're seventeen – eighteen – however old you are – pretty much a man!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared over in concern as the two ninja's argument grew louder.

"Don't worry about them," Naruto grinned, sliding into a seat next to them. He was unusually dirty; mud and a red substance that looked suspiciously like blood marred his armour.

"Hi, Nar-uu-to," Hermione said. Naruto winced as he heard his name incorrectly said.

"Uh… it's Nah-ru-to," Naruto said. Hermione frowned and tried to say his name as he had done. Naruto grimaced and said, "Better than before."

"What does it mean?" Hermione asked. Naruto turned pink and didn't answer her. In an attempt to divert attention off his name, he then nodded towards Kiba and Ino again. "They like to argue a lot, but in reality, they really do love each other."

Ron choked.

"Really?" Hermione said in interest. "Who would have known?" The subject was effectively changed.

"They don't show it," Harry said thoughtfully. Naruto shrugged.

"Of course not; this is a mission, not a romantic date," Naruto said through a mouthful of food. Then, he swallowed and smiled brightly at them. "But they have other ways to show their affection."

They all glanced back at the pair again, and found Ino loading Kiba's plate up before his eyes. The blonde girl looked disgruntled, but Kiba grinned at her and brushed a hand over her shoulder, his way of saying thanks without words.

"I miss my ramen," Naruto pouted.

"Ramen?" Harry repeated. "What's that?"

The ANBU captain stared at him with wide eyes. "You don't know what ramen is?"

"I believe it is a type of noodle dish that is popular in Japan," Hermione said, "but I don't really know much about it."

"Why don't you describe it to us?" Ron suggested. A huge smile split Naruto's face.

"Ramen is the most delicious food in the world!" Naruto crowed. "Ramen is…" and so he babbled on and on and on…

"Naruto-kun, I don't think they care anymore," said a quiet voice behind them. The four of them turned to see Hinata smiling down politely at them. But it was true; Ron's eyes were dazed and Harry had started playing with his fork. Only Hermione was still dutifully listening to the blonde's lecture on his favourite noodle dish.

"Hi, Hinata-chan," Naruto said cheerily. He jumped out of his seat. "Is it my turn already?"

Hinata nodded and tugged on his arm. Naruto glanced back at the trio. "Sorry, but I've gotta go. Duty calls!" He disappeared with a _poof_. Peace was regained within the Great Hall, before there was an explosion, and a bellow of, "U-ZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO!" rang out. Green smoke curled into the Hall. Everyone looked around worriedly apart from the guards in the Hall. They continued eating normally.

"Sakura is mad," Hinata said, pointing out the obvious.

"Uh, why?" Harry asked. Hinata flashed him a faded smile.

"Naruto-kun's late," Hinata said, but after catching their blank looks, she added, "for watch duty."

"How late is he?" Ron asked.

"A few hours," Hinata replied. "I think he was training… or something. Naruto-kun always forgets the time when he's training. And… I also think Sakura's mad because, um, Naruto-kun was… _testing_ something. I suppose Sakura got caught up in it."

Sakura stomped into the Hall, her pink hair looking as though electricity was running through it. There was also… red liquid on her uniform. It started all the way from her shoulder and a waterfall of the substance covered the front of her silver armour. She spotted Hinata and made her way towards her. Students hurried out of her path, fearful of her wrath.

"Is that blood?" Ron whispered, horrified. Hinata shook her head.

"Where is he?" Sakura hissed.

"He just left," Hinata said. "_Ano_, Sakura, please go easy on him. He hasn't trained for a while now, and today he had a chance. He merely forgot, that's all."

"An ANBU captain does not _forget_," Sakura said through her teeth. "I don't even understand how he got that title in the first place. _Why_ couldn't it have been Neji or Shikamaru or someone _sane_? Also, an ANBU captain _does not_ lay traps around for his comrades to _fall into._" Hinata chuckled quietly at her friend.

"You know perfectly well why he got that title, Sakura," Hinata said. "And you should wash the paint off before it dries. Come on, I'll help you. Besides… you're an ANBU yourself. You should not have fallen into such a trap."

"Oh, be quiet, Hinata," Sakura snapped, but with no real sting in her voice. Hinata laughed and led her friend out to get cleaned up.

* * *

><p>Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall at exactly the same moment as the post owls on Monday morning. Hermione was not the only person eagerly awaiting her <em>Daily Prophet<em>: nearly everyone was keen for more news about the escaped Death Eaters and the Akatsuki, who, despite many reported sightings, had not been caught.

Harry was surprised when the first owl landed with a thud in front of them, and was sure that it had made a mistake.

"Who're you after?" he asked it, languidly removing his orange juice out of harm's way. He leaned forwards to see the recipient's name and address:

_Harry Potter_

_Great Hall_

_Hogwarts School_

Frowning, he made to take the letter from the owl, but before he could do so, three, four, five more owls had fluttered down beside it and were jockeying for position, treading in the butter and knocking over the salt as each one attempted to give him their letter first.

"What's going on?" Ron asked in amazement, as the whole of the Gryffindor table leaned forwards to watch and another seven owls landed amongst the first ones, screeching, hooting and flapping their wings. It had even caught the guards' attention, and a few of them had ghosted over to see what was happening.

"Harry!" said Hermione breathlessly, plunging her hands into the feathery mass and pulling out a screech owl bearing a long, cylindrical package. "I think I know what this means – open this one first!"

Harry ripped off the brown packaging, and out rolled a tightly furled copy of the March edition of _The Quibbler_. He unrolled it to see his own face grinning sheepishly at him from the front cover. In large red letters across this picture were the words:

_HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:_

_THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED_

_AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN_

"Nice photo," Kiba chuckled. He was peering down behind Harry and was looking at the title. "Didn't you do this in the last Hogsmeade weekend?"

Harry nodded and was distracted by Luna Lovegood coming across from the Ravenclaw table.

Harry still hadn't gotten used to the guards' unmasked faces. They looked so much younger, more carefree, and he saw now that their personalities for vastly different. Masked, they had all been cold almost to the point of uncaring, but now, they smiled, laughed and chatted.

"They are probably letters from the readers," Luna said vaguely, nodding her head towards the owls.

"That's what I thought," said Hermione. "Harry, do you mind we if –?"

"Help yourself," said Harry, feeling slightly bemused.

Ron and Hermione both started ripping open envelopes.

"This one's from a bloke who think you're off your rocker," said Ron, glancing down at the letter. "Ah well…"

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St Mungo's," said Hermione, looking disappointed and crumpling up in a second.

"This one looks okay, though," said Harry slowly, scanning a long letter from a witch in Paisley. "Hey, she says she believes me!"

They all commented to each other what they found when reading the letters, and they were soon joined by Fred who started opening them as well.

"What is going on here?" said a falsely sweet, girlish voice.

Harry looked up with his hands full of envelopes. Professor Umbridge was standing behind Fred and Luna, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of Harry. Behind her he saw many of the students watching them avidly.

"Potter-san is getting nothing but mail," Neji said sharply, having appeared behind Umbridge. She cast a cold eye over him. "Is that a crime now?"

"This is none of your business," she snapped.

"Nor is it yours," Neji said. "Who Potter-san gets his letters from is his business and his alone." Umbridge curled her lip and turned away from him.

"Well, Mr Potter?" she said. Harry hesitated, but he did not see how he could keep what he had done quiet; it was surely only a matter of time before a copy of _The Quibbler_ came to Umbridge's attention.

"People have written to me because I gave an interview," said Harry, "about what happened to me last June."

"An interview?" repeated Umbridge, her voice thinner and higher than ever. "What do you mean?"

"He means a reporter asked him questions and he answered them," Kiba said irritably. "Surely you know what an interview is." He grabbed _The Quibbler_ out of Harry's hand and thrust it into Umbridge's face. She caught it and stared down at the cover. Her pale, doughy face turned an ugly, patch violet. Kiba 'tch'ed at her and moved off.

"When did you do this?" she asked.

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," said Harry. She looked up at him, incandescent with rage, the magazine shaking in her stubby fingers.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr Potter" she whispered. "How you dare… how you could…" She took a deep breath. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions."

She stalked away, clutching _The Quibbler_ to her chest, the eyes of many students following her.

Harry spotted Kiba and Hinata huddled together, smiling slightly at something. He wandered over.

"What's that?" he asked, "if you don't mind telling me," he added quickly. Kiba looked at him and grinned. He was holding a letter in his hand, and what seemed like a photo.

"Nah, it's okay," he said. "Look."

He held out the glossy photo, and in it, Harry saw a pretty woman with brown hair, strange red eyes and lips, and she wore a scarlet dress wrapped in bandages of some sort. She was holding a small child, who was giggling happily at the camera. The photo did not move, indicating that it was Muggle.

"Who is it?" Harry asked, handing it back to Hinata. "She's pretty."

"She's my teacher," Kiba said, "and Hinata's. She taught us how to be real ninja after we graduated."

"She is an important person," Hinata said quietly. "Like a mother," she mumbled.

Harry wasn't sure if he heard correctly. Her voice was too soft.

"Oh well," he said bracingly. "You'll get to see her when you get back, yeah?"

Kiba nodded enthusiastically. "With any luck we'll have a little get-together with another friend of ours. We all trained under her."

"I miss Shino-kun," Hinata said, a tad sadly. "I hope he's alright." Kiba snorted.

"That idiot? He'll be fine," Kiba said.

"Kiba-kun," Hinata scolded, but Harry knew the boy was joking. It was evident in the happy way he said it, and the admiration with which he looked at this woman.

"What's her name?" Harry asked.

"Kurenai," Hinata said, smiling at him, "Kurenai-sensei."

* * *

><p><em>BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS<em>

_Any student found in possession of the magazine_

The Quibbler_ will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree_

_Number Twenty-seven._

_Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor_

"That's harsh, getting expelled for being in possession of a magazine," Shikamaru said, staring idly up at the sign.

"How in the world is that an educational decree?" Ino asked in disgust. "That's just her getting angry and using her powers to do what she wants." She folded her arms and glared up at the sign.

"Well, this is going to have the opposite effect of what she intended," Shikamaru said, scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"Huh? Why?" Ino asked.

"If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read the interview, it was banning it," Shikamaru said.

It seemed that he was correct. By the end of the day, though no sign of _The Quibbler_ had been seen, the whole place seemed to be whispering about it as they queued up outside classes, discussed it over lunch and in the back of lessons, and Ino had reported that every occupant of the cubicles in the girls' toilets had been talking about it.

Meanwhile, Professor Umbridge was stalking the school, stopping students at random and demanding that they turn out their books and pockets. She was obviously looking for copies of _The Quibbler_, but the students were a few steps ahead of her. The pages carrying the interview had been bewitched to resemble extracts from textbooks if anyone but themselves read it, or else wiped magically blank until they wanted to peruse it again. Soon, it seemed that every single person in the school had read it.

The teachers, of course, were forbidden from mentioning the interview by Educational Decree Number Twenty-six, but they found ways to express their feelings about it all the same. Professor Sprout awarded Gryffindor twenty points when Harry passed her a watering can; a beaming Professor Flitwick pressed a box of squeaking sugar mice on him at the end of Charms, said, "Shh!" and hurried away; Professor Trelawney broke into hysterical sobs during Divination and announced to the startled class, amused ninja and a very disapproving Umbridge, that Harry was _not_ going to suffer an early death after all, but would live to a ripe old age, become Minister for Magic and have twelve children.

* * *

><p>"The school was a very excited place today," Gaara said, staring unblinkingly over the chaos that engulfed the Gryffindor common room. There was a large party there, with lots of noise and mess. Kiba smiled toothily, his sharp, slitted eyes scanning over the room.<p>

"Go back to the Slytherins," Kiba said. "Can't leave poor old Neji to guard them all by himself, you know." Gaara rolled his eyes and left, but not before hitting Kiba lightly on the head with his fist.

The teachers seemed to be treating the ninja as they would their own students now, maybe because of how young they looked. Kiba had gotten pissed off after Professor McGonagall had scolded him angrily for accidently knocking over a chalk box, and had made him clean it up afterwards, even though he would have anyway without being asked. Sakura, who had asked Professor Snape for some poison for her to experiment on and develop an antidote for, was blatantly refused and rejected by the Potions Master and almost kicked out of his office. But the main annoyance for all of the ninja was the way the students themselves treated them. If a seventh year accidently bumped into a shinobi, for example, it was less "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there" and more "Watch where you're going, idiot!" Needless to say, the guards of Hogwarts were getting to the end of their long line of patience.

* * *

><p>In the common room a few nights later, Harry decided to go up to bed early. He said his goodbyes to Hermione and Ron, and made his way up the stairs. His head was starting to ache and his scar was prickling. The dormitory was empty when he reached it. He rested his forehead for a moment against the cool glass of the window beside his bed; it felt soothing against his scar. Then he undressed and got into bed, wishing his headache would go away. He also felt slightly sick. He rolled over onto his side, closed his eyes and fell asleep almost at once…<p>

He was standing in a dark, curtained room lit by a single branch of candles. His hands were clenched on the back of a chair in front of him. They were long-fingered and white as though they had not seen sunlight for years and looked like large, pale spiders against the dark velvet of the chair.

Beyond the chair, in a pool of light cast upon the floor by the candles, knelt a man in black robes.

"I have been badly advised, it seems," said Harry, in a high, cold voice that pulsed with anger.

"Master, I crave your pardon," croaked the man kneeling on the floor. The back of his head glimmered in the candlelight. He seemed to be trembling.

"I do not blame you, Rookwood," said Harry in that cold, cruel voice.

He relinquished his grip on the chair and walked around it, closer to the man cowering on the floor, until he stood directly over him in the darkness, looking down from a far greater height than usual.

"You are sure of your facts, Rookwood?" asked Harry.

"Yes, My Lord, yes… I used to work in the Department after – after all…"

"Avery told me Bode would be able to remove it."

"Bode could never have taken it, Master… Bode would have known he could not… undoubtedly, that is why he fought so hard against Malfoy's Imperious Curse…"

"Stand up, Rookwood," whispered Harry.

The kneeling man almost fell over in his haste to obey. His face was pockmarked; the scars were thrown into relief by the candlelight. He remained a little stooped when standing, as though halfway through a bow, and he darted terrified looks up to Harry's face.

"You have done well to tell me this," said Harry. "Very well… I have wasted months on fruitless schemes, it seems… but no matter… we begin again, from now. You have Lord Voldemort's gratitude, Rookwood."

"My Lord… yes, My Lord," gasped Rookwood, his voice hoarse with relief.

"I shall need your help, I shall need all the information you can give me."

"Of course, Mr Lord, of course… anything…"

"Very well… you may go. Send Avery to me."

Rookwood scurried backwards, bowing, and disappeared through the door.

A slight movement in the corner, and Harry turned his head towards it. Peeling away from the shadows came a man with an orange, swirly mask. He was dressed in a long black cloak that would have blended into the darkness perfectly if it weren't for the ruby red clouds that decorated it. Harry was surprised for a moment, but he didn't show it. No matter how much those ninja appeared so suddenly out of nowhere, he still couldn't get used to it. But no matter; he could mask his surprise easily.

"Madara," Harry said in greeting.

"I see you keep your servants well and truly under your control," Madara said coolly. Harry sat back on his chair.

"Naturally," Harry said. "But it is hard to find loyal ones these days."

"You rule with fear," Madara said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Harry inclined his head.

"And what of it?" Harry asked. Madara shrugged; a bare roll of his cloaked shoulders.

"Nothing really," Madara said. Harry twirled his wand idly in his hand.

"Have you come to report anything to me?" Harry asked. Madara tensed, but Harry could not tell what he was thinking. Though Harry did well in reading emotions, he found that the masked man was hard to understand.

"I just wanted to notify you of something," Madara said. "We attack Hogwarts in three weeks."

"Three weeks, you say?" Harry whispered. "And what makes you so certain that you will succeed?"

"We are not attacking to conquer," Madara said. "We are merely testing our enemies' defences."

"I see," Harry sneered. "Well, I'm sure this one will work better than your… other scheme." Madara did not move, so Harry could not read his body language.

"That one was poorly planned out," Madara said coldly. "We did not expect the ninja to retaliate by attacking. We simply… assumed that if their beloved are in danger, they would throw away everything to get them back."

"A grave miscalculation on your part," Harry said smoothly.

"They have grown," Madara said simply. "It seems that we will have to update our information. The Leaf and Sand ninja we knew have changed from the little brats they were before the Fourth Shinobi World War." Harry waved him away from a pale, spidery hand.

"I do not care," Harry said. "Just make sure this plan works."

"Of course," Madara said. He paused for a second, and then melted away (1).

Left alone in the dark room, Harry turned towards the wall. A cracked, age-spotted mirror hung on the wall in the shadows. Harry moved towards it. His reflection grew larger and clearer in the darkness… a face white than a skull… red eyes with slits for pupils…

"NOOOOOOO!"

"What?" yelled a voice nearby.

Harry flailed around madly, became entangled in the hangings and fell out of his bed. For a few seconds he did not know where he was; he was convinced he was about to see the white, skull-like face looming at him out of the dark again, then very near him Ron's voice spoke.

"Will you stop acting like a maniac so I can get you out of here?"

Ron wrenched the hangings apart and Harry stared up at him in the moonlight, flat on his back, his scar searing with pain. Ron looked as though he had just been getting ready for bed; one arm was out of his robes.

"Potter-san," Kiba whispered. Harry shouted out as Kiba's face suddenly loomed out of the darkness, reminding him horribly of his dream. Kiba sprang back, his feral eyes wide with surprise.

"What happened?" Kiba asked, recovering from his surprise and coming closer again.

"Has someone been attacked again?" asked Ron, pulling Harry roughly to his feet. "Is it Dad? Is it that snake?"

"No – everyone's fine –" gasped Harry, whose forehead felt as though it were on fire. "Well… Avery isn't… he's in trouble… he gave him the wrong information… Voldemort's really angry… but Hogwarts is in trouble…"

Harry groaned and sank, shaking, onto his bed, rubbing his scar.

"But Rookwood's going to help him now… he's on the right track him…"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, sounding scared. "D-you mean… did you just see You-Know-Who?"

"I _was_ You-Know-Who," said Harry. Kiba noticed that Harry didn't use 'Voldemort'. Harry stretched out his hands in the darkness and held them up to his face, to check that they were no longer deathly white and long-fingered. "He was with Rookwood, he's one of the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban, remember? Rookwood's just told him that Bode couldn't have done it."

"Done what?"

"Remove something… he said Bode would have known he couldn't have done it… Bode was under the Imperious Curse… I think he said Malfoy's dad put it on him."

"Bode was bewitched to remove something?" Ron said. "But – Harry, that's got to be-"

"The weapon," Harry finished the sentence of him. "And there was also something else." Harry's eyes widened as he remembered a crucial detail. "Those Akatsuki people! They're going to attack Hogwarts!" Kiba stared at the two boys for a minute or two, and then he grabbed Harry's arm.

"Potter-san, we're going to see Ino," Kiba said, roughly dragging him out of the dorm, leaving a surprised Ron standing there with Akamaru.

"Wait – we're – what?" Harry spluttered, struggling to twist his arm out of Kiba's vice-like grip. Kiba did not answer him. As they came down the stairs, Kiba barked something at Shikamaru, who looked up lazily, narrowed his eyes and nodded. The common room was still full and messy, but before anyone could ask Harry where he was going, Kiba had already swept past them. Kiba then took Harry out of the Gryffindor common room and tapped into his radio.

_"Ino,"_ Kiba said. _"Come in, I need you outside the Gryffindor common room. Naruto, you too."_ Harry, of course, knew nothing of what was said. He and the dog ninja waited in the corridor outside the Gryffindor common room for about five minutes with only the snoozing Fat Lady for company, and then, quick as a shadow, two figures body flickered to where the two of them stood.

"Kiba, what's up?" Naruto asked. Ino made a face at him and she brushed her fringe away from her face.

"Kiba, this better be important," Ino said. Kiba rolled his eyes.

_"Potter-san had a dream," _Kiba said quickly. _"One which I think the Akatsuki were in."_

This caught both shinobi's attentions. Naruto glanced at Harry sharply.

_"You want me to take a look?" _Ino guessed. Kiba nodded. Ino sighed and turned to Harry, who stood there, only recognising the words, 'Potter-san' and 'Akatsuki'.

"Sorry, Potter-san," Ino said. "Do you mind if I go into your mind for a bit?"

Without waiting for his response, she formed some hand signs and Harry felt a strange, whooping sensation. He had a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this information you got is reliable?" Ino asked. She had just seen the vision and come out again. Right now, she was eyeing Harry coolly beneath her gaze.<p>

"Yes," Harry said. "I've had visions like this before; remember the one with Mr Weasley before Christmas? That turned out to be correct."

"Yes, but that was also when Voldemort found out the connection he shared with you," Naruto said. "He may be using that link to plant false information." Harry started to get angry. Why did no one trust him?

"Alright," Kiba said, breaking up the tension that was brewing between them. "If what Potter-san saw was true, then we're in very deep shit."

"Fine, we'll believe you for now," Naruto said, dragging a hand down his face, "Better safe than sorry." Harry was still struck by how incredibly young he suddenly looked.

"Three weeks, huh?" Ino said.

"We're going to have to tell the others," Kiba said. _"Are we having a midnight meeting?"_ he asked in Japanese. Naruto nodded.

"Alright, you can go back inside now, Potter-san," Naruto said. "Thanks for your help."

"Uh… no problem," Harry said before he was pushed back into the Gryffindor common room by Kiba. He started to ask a question, before the portrait of the Fat Lady was slammed in his face.

* * *

><p><span>Omake:<span>

Shikamaru was sitting in the library, casually reading through a text book that looked interesting (from his point of view). Mainly, though, he was researching on Voldemort. He yawned widely and closed the book, and was just getting up to leave when a seventh year boy, pretty much the same age as him, appeared behind some book shelves.

"Oh, hey, Sheek-a-mah-ru," the seventh year boy said. He was quite tall, looming over Shikamaru by about twenty centimetres. He could have been described as handsome, but Shikamaru, looking at him, could only think of two words:

Stupid monkey.

"Uh, hi?" Shikamaru said, managing to turn his greeting into a question. He didn't bother correcting the student on the pronunciation of his name.

"Oh, my name's Tim Franco," the student said, thrusting out his hand for Shikamaru to shake. The ninja merely stared at the hand, not knowing what to do (or rather, he couldn't be bothered doing it) until Tim withdrew it awkwardly.

"Um, not to be rude, but did you want something from me?" Shikamaru asked. Tim nodded enthusiastically, not seeming at all offended by what Shikamaru just said.

"Well, I just wanted to confirm something," Tim said. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head and muttered, "Troublesome."

"Yeah? What did you want to confirm?"

"Well, you ninja are Japanese, right?" Tim asked. Shikamaru nodded cautiously. What he wasn't expecting was Tim's reaction.

"OH MY GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET A JAPANESE PERSON BUT I'VE NEVER GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO! I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING JAPANESE SINCE I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD AND I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY IT OUT ON SOMEONE!"

Shikamaru actually skipped back a step or two at the randomness of Tim's outburst. Amidst shocked thoughts, one of them was: _He really _is_ a stupid monkey._

"Shh," Madam Pince, the librarian, scolded. Shikamaru glanced over at her and meekly apologised.

"Can I try some Japanese on you?" Tim asked excitedly, not aware of how much noise he was making. Shikamaru nodded, but that was only because he just wanted the student to calm down. Shikamaru, of course, expected the boy to be good, considering that he _had_ been learning since he was five.

"Ahem," Tim said. A smug look suddenly replaced the enthusiastic one on his face. "Kon-ee-chii-wa. Wa-taa-shee wah Tim de-suh."

Shikamaru could only stare at Tim and feel his left eyebrow twitch.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) It seems as though Voldemort thinks that he's the one using the Akatsuki. Oh, how wrong he is…<strong>

**Yes, I'm well aware that this chapter did not have much action in it, but this was mainly just to fix things up with Temari, go over the effects that Harry's interview had with the school and also introduce the problems from the dream Harry had.**

**Harry felt a sense of déjà vu when Ino entered his mind because she's done it once before, though he didn't exactly know what was going on. She entered his mind when he had his dream about the snake.**

**In this chapter there is another bit of foreshadowing, though this detail is so small I really doubt any of you could spot it. It's less than ten words long, but little hints like this will be coming up in every chapter. It ties in massively with the plot later on. Well, it becomes really, really big in the sequel. Yeah, I'm doing a sequel to this story XD I've already started planning :P**

**Hey, Shikamaru's in the ending scene once again.**

**It's another OC! Now I have four: Jason Fleance, Mark Pilate, Trisha and Tim Franco! Welcome aboard the ship of Harry Potter OC's! We hope you have an enjoyable trip and thank you for coming~! Well, I don't know if they could really be called OC's. More like supporting characters?**

**It was the last day of school today :3 Graduated year ten, and I had my last ever History lesson, French lesson and Geography lesson. **

**You better review, or I won't update *waves a kunai in your face* I also know how to use a kunai… no, not really. No, I will update, don't worry. I love this story too much :P But please drop a review, yeah?**


	19. A Conversation Between Mortals

**I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. This is a boring chapter. Like… really boring. I'm sorry . I didn't know what else to write. It's sort of a filler chapter, but not a filler chapter.**

**Ugh. I just read a story that had an OC in it as the main character, and she was so Mary Sue I wanted to kill myself. Or rather, kill her.**

**Thank you to 'ThePurpleSuperCow' and 'Ochibi and Urufu' for prodding me along with this chapter. **

**The reviewers: WinxPossible, Spider's Thread, Ochibi and Urufu, Tranquil-Chaos, Kyuubi No Tenshi, ladyyuuki16, Ichigo Mirai, itachi-sasuke4ever, Sparkstorm57, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, dangerous ninga, Ice Vixen X, Avasaya, DreamingOfSerenity, Demon Flame, SasuHina4evr, ThePurpleSuperCow, virginger, Masked Bard of Chaos, HypnoticFlames, tenshi-no-akuma-81, furuba-suzume, StarKiss666, Furionknight, xXSolaine-GirlXx, verohey5, Scarlett Winds, Kickilia and Phobiakat**

**A lot of people have also stated the fact that they liked Tim/Tim reminds them of themselves XD I'm glad you guys aren't yelling at me for introducing OC's and that you liked my omake. And I did kinda base Tim off myself...**

**Chapter Nineteen: A Conversation between Mortals**

* * *

><p>"Did Potter-san have another one of his weird dream vision things?" Tenten asked. All the shinobi were outside by the lake, able to see each other only by the light of the moon. It was about two o'clock in the morning.<p>

"Naturally," Ino said. She looked at her captain. "Do you want to say it or do you want me to?"

Naruto sighed, and said, "Potter-san had another vision. The first part of it does not exactly concern us; it's the second part that worries me."

"Hurry up and spit it out already," Shikamaru mumbled. "Troublesome." Naruto ignored him.

"In the vision, Potter-san… was Voldemort. He saw everything as Voldemort did. Madara was also there and he revealed that they will launch an attack on Hogwarts in three weeks."

A heavy silence met his words, and yet all their faces were free from emotion.

"We expected something like this to happen, though," Hinata said. She met all their gazes with her blank Hyuuga eyes. "It does not really come as a surprise."

"True enough," Gaara agreed quietly. "We knew the Akatsuki joined forces with Voldemort. Of course they would attack the school sooner or later."

"Madara said that the attack was only to test the school's defences," Ino said. She stretched tiredly, easing out the aching muscles in her shoulders. "He said that they weren't planning to take it over or anything."

"What about the first part of the dream?" Neji asked. "You mentioned it, but said that it was not our problem."

"Well, it's important in a way," Naruto said. "But I can't make neither head nor tail or it."

"Tell us," Kiba said. "Nine heads are better than one."

"The first bit was just Voldemort scaring the crap out of a Death Eater," Ino said.

"A man named Bode was apparently under the Imperious Curse performed by Malfoy Lucias," Naruto said, frowning as he tried to remember. "And he tried to take whatever the Order is guarding. Wait…"

"Wasn't there a man in St Mungo's hospital?" Kiba asked. "A man named Bode…? He was in the same ward as the dude who reminded me of Gai-sensei."

"He couldn't talk," Ino recalled. Realization dawned on her face. "He was killed! He was killed by that weird strangling plant that they call the Devil's Snare."

"We're lost," Sakura said. She brushed her pink hair out of her eyes. "We weren't with you when you left to follow the kids."

Naruto, Kiba and Ino recounted the tale, to the curiosity of the others.

"We're going to have to warn Dumbledore-san," Naruto said when they had finished. "He's our client, and he's the headmaster of the school."

"Will we have to tell the students?" Neji asked. His impassive face then proceeded to morph into a tiny frown. "They're going to panic."

"If we tell them, then all the kids will write to their parents, and all the parents will want to take their brats back home," Tenten said. She idly twirled a kunai around her finger. "What do we do?"

"It would be nice to get them out of the way," Shikamaru said, yawning. "They are far too troublesome."

"No," Naruto said. "It'll be safer at the school than at their homes."

"Voldemort could be anywhere," Hinata said. "We're here to guard the school, and not a lot gets past us."

"We're going to have to tighten security," Sakura said. "We'll need more people patrolling the corridors at night. Madara said that he'll attack in three weeks, but he didn't say exactly when, so we're in the dark there."

"It's alright, though," Kiba said. "This is all really good information. Imagine if we weren't aware of all this…"

"It could still be a trap," Shikamaru said.

"We'll prepare anyway," Naruto said. He scratched his whiskered cheeks, in deep thought. "And if it turns out to be a false alarm, then we'll never trust Potter-san again."

Sakura laughed. "That's kinda harsh, captain."

"What would the Akatsuki and Voldemort gain anyway by pretending to attack?" Gaara said. His arms were folded, as usual, and his face was blank, betraying nothing of the thoughts that were going on inside his head. "After all, the Akatsuki know that we're going to be prepared for anything, and they're not trying to conquer, they're just testing."

"Got a point there," Tenten muttered. She turned to Naruto. "Alright, so what are your orders, captain?"

Naruto grimaced, but answered her anyway.

"I want Neji, Tenten, Sakura and Hinata to patrol the castle tonight," Naruto said. "The rest of you retreat to your respective common rooms. Set up traps, as usual. Don't forget to disable them in the morning when the kids come out. Hinata and Neji, could you guys keep a special eye on the Forbidden Forest? It provides too much cover for my liking, and the Akatsuki can easily appear and disappear in there within the cover of the trees.

"I'm going to make a few Kage Bunshin as well. I want two guards with Potter-san at all times. My Kage Bunshin will also fill in for you guys; there's too much work for only nine ANBU. Gaara, I want you to inspect the teachers' offices for anything suspicious. I'm going to get an approval from Dumbledore-san in a few hours, when he's awake, and after that go and check."

Naruto had slipped in ANBU-captain mode, his sharp blue eyes no longer playful, and his mouth, which was normally curved up in a smile, set in a straight line.

"Dismissed."

* * *

><p>"… and that's what will happen," Naruto said.<p>

He was at a staff meeting, warning the teachers of what was to come. Shikamaru and Sakura stood alongside him, as backup.

"And where did you get this information?" Professor Sprout asked.

Naruto's eyes flickered over to Dumbledore for a second before he spoke. "A reliable source."

"One that is to be trusted," Dumbledore said, nodding along. The teachers seemed to take heart in that fact.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "Then I propose that we should strengthen the castle barriers. The suits of armour should be initiated, no?"

"I suppose I could get some plants to protect the borders," Professor Sprout said, warming to the idea. "I'll put some along the Forbidden Forest."

"There are many Charms to defend the school," Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"And Ancient Runes can be activated," Professor Babbling said. "They make very good defences."

"Animals in the Forbidden Forest like ter 'elp," Hagrid said. He had to look in from the doorway due to his size.

Naruto watched the teachers talk, irritation growing on his features.

"Oi," Naruto said, cutting across the chatter. "Quiet!"

The teachers stopped and stared.

"Look, it's great that you're all contributing," Sakura said wearily, "but you forget: there are ninja in this attack. And for your information, ninja are not susceptible to magic. They will not fall that easily."

"If you put plants along the Forest," Naruto told Professor Sprout, "the sound ninja will probably just blast them dead with some sound waves. You could trap a few of them, but once the element of surprise is over, your plants are gone."

"The suits of armour are a good idea," Shikamaru said, "but the enemy will probably emerge from the Forbidden Forest, and we won't let them get past the tree line," he added darkly.

"I'm not sure what your Charms and Ancient Runes can do," Naruto said, "but as we stated before: ninja will not be weakened by magic."

"And the creatures in the Forbidden Forest will just get hurt," Sakura said.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Snape asked coldly. "Please, enlighten us."

Naruto glared at the Potions Master.

"Yes, you are ninja," Professor McGonagall said, sighing deeply, "but you are not military captains or anything. You cannot know the enemy's movements, or draft a plan from them."

"You'll be surprised," Naruto muttered under his breath. "No, we are not military captains, but Shikamaru here is great at strategy. One of the best in the village."

"Shut up," Shikamaru said.

"_Him_?" Professor Snape spat, eyeing Shikamaru with distaste. "Your village must have a very low standard, then, if one of the best strategists is a teenager."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. Here he thought it was too troublesome to say anything, but if someone belittled him, well, he would have to prove his worth, wouldn't he?

"Well then," Shikamaru said coolly. Naruto and Sakura smirked, recognising the challenge in Shikamaru's otherwise lazy tone, "what do _you _think is going to happen that day?"

Dumbledore sighed inwardly as his teachers and the shinobi got into a silent war. Well, he wasn't going to stop them.

"I don't know how they plan to attack from the Forbidden Forest," Snape sneered, "but my best bet is that they will attack at the front doors. It is the only way in and out of Hogwarts that can house a large number of people. Perhaps a few of them will sneak around the castle, but the majority will be there."

"And you think that the enemy will attack the castle head-on?" Shikamaru said, raising an eyebrow. Snape shrugged.

"What's your guess?" he asked silkily.

"We don't know how Orochimaru appeared in the Forbidden Forest, but we are sure that others can do the same," Shikamaru said, planting his palms onto the tabletop and glaring at each teacher in the face. "The Forbidden Forest has a lot of cover, and that will work in the enemy's favour.

"There will probably be only about a hundred or so wizards and ninja attacking, as Madara said that they are only checking the defences," Shikamaru continued, "they are not attacking to conquer. We don't know how true that is, but since Madara was talking to Voldemort…" he shrugged, ignoring the shudders around the table at the Dark wizard's name.

"So, what do you propose?" Professor Sprout asked.

"We should focus all our forces on the Forest," Shikamaru said, "but we can't be sure that it's the only place the enemy will attack from. Therefore, we should place one or two ninja are the front doors, just in case. Maybe a Hyuuga," he added, glancing at Naruto, who nodded.

Snape leaned back and curled his lip. "Well then, we'll see, Nara. We'll see."

"Yes, we will," Shikamaru agreed.

* * *

><p>"Hiya! Are you the one called Neji Hyuuga?" a small boy asked. Neji turned around and looked down, and felt a sense of foreboding. Shikamaru had warned him about the last time he had an encounter with a crazy student.<p>

"Yes," Neji said stiffly. "What's your name?"

"Mark Pilate," said the boy. Neji raised an eyebrow; he remembered this boy. He was Jason Fleance's friend, the one who had come faithfully to the hospital every day while his friend's injuries healed.

"Hn."

"So… you're Neji Hyuuga, right?" Mark confirmed. Neji nodded. "Oooh! Cool! Can I ask ya something?"

Neji glared down at Mark. "What?"

"So, why is your hair so long?" Mark said. His brow furrowed. "I mean, it looks like a girl's hair."

"…"

"…"

"Detention," Neji said smoothly, "for disrespecting men who have long hair."

Neji was already pissed off, and the arrival of a blabbering second year did not help matters.

"Aw, what?" Mark complained. "Now?"

"Yes, now," Neji said. "It's Saturday, you don't have any classes."

"But I have the self defence class," Mark whined. Neji rolled his white eyes.

"That's not until later," Neji said. "You're going to be writing lines for two hours."

"What?" Mark yelped.

Neji lead him into an empty classroom, and took a roll of parchment and a quill from the teacher's desk drawer.

"'I will not be a stupid idiot and annoy people ever again'," Neji said. "That's what you'll write."

"That's so long," Mark said. Neji's eyes flashed, and Mark wilted. "I'm writing, I'm writing."

_He's got attitude, for such a small kid,_ Neji thought.

There was silence for approximately two seconds, before Mark opened his big mouth again.

"Why are your eyes white?" he asked curiously. Neji stared at him.

_Wow, this kid really doesn't hold back with the questions,_ Neji thought.

"I was born that way," he said.

"The Hyuuga girl has the same eyes as you," Mark noted. "Are you related?"

"She's my cousin," Neji said.

"So it's a family trait," Mark summarised. Neji nodded. "Is it a dominant allele?"

_How does this kid know about alleles?_ Neji wondered, but he nodded again.

"Our clan members are allowed to marry outsiders," Neji said, "but the outsiders will not be allowed to live inside the clan residence. Only the children and the Hyuuga members who have this trait are allowed to live inside the residence."

"What if the kids don't have the trait?"

"Then he or she is an outcast," Neji said. "The elders won't accept the child. He or she will have to live outside the compound."

"Tough crowd," Mark commented. Neji shrugged, and then his pupil-less eyes somehow narrowed.

"You're supposed to be writing," Neji said, but Mark left his quill on the table.

"Do you know what it feels like to be an outcast?" Mark asked instead, his voice was very soft. Neji cocked his head and regarded the younger boy thoughtfully.

"Not really," Neji admitted. "I guess the person who understands that most is Naruto, maybe Chouji…"

Mark didn't ask who Chouji was, but he said, "It's lonely. Really, really lonely."

Silence fell between them, while Neji tried to gauge what was on the other boy's mind. Finally, the Hyuuga cleared his throat, and Mark jumped and looked up. Neji mimed writing.

"Pick up your pen – quill – thingy," Neji said, forgetting what the writing utensil was called for a second, "and write."

Mark smirked. "A pen quill thingy? Nice."

"Don't push your luck," Neji warned him. "I want at least eight hundred lines before your time is up."

"WHAT? You're such a slave driver!"

* * *

><p>Harry and Ron were ambling through the school. It was lunch break, and yet neither of the two felt like eating. Hermione was in the library. Where else would she be?<p>

"You know the ninja?" Ron said. There was nothing else to talk about, and the subject was bugging him. "They seem really different."

Harry snorted. "Yeah. I just found out that Naruto is a hyper-active bunny who enjoys laying traps around for his comrades to fall into and has a deep, unrequited love of ramen."

Ron's lips twitched. "I know, right? It's like their personalities have switched."

"Well, apart from Neji. He's the same as always," Harry said.

"Ya think? He threatened to smear my intestines across the walls if I kept on laughing too loud one day in the library," Ron grumbled.

"Why _were _you laughing, then?" Harry asked curiously.

"Fred and George."

"Ah."

They rounded a corner.

"Harry," Ron whispered in a low voice. He nudged him and jerked his head directly in front of them. "Look who it is."

Harry glanced up ahead and immediately spotted Gaara. The redhead was staring up into the sky, which was a dazzling blue today. His black-rimmed eyes were empty, filled with nothingness. A hand was resting lightly against the window. He turned his head slightly as the two boys neared him, but did not look at them.

"Hi," Harry said awkwardly. Gaara did not answer them. Instead, he tilted his face until his green eyes rested themselves upon Ron, and then Harry.

"Greetings," Gaara said softly. "Why aren't you two at lunch?"

"Not hungry," Ron said. "What are you doing?"

Gaara did not answer for a while, and when Harry was starting to think that Gaara didn't hear them, did he answer.

"I'm thinking," was his reply. Ron and Harry shared a look, one that said, _I think this guy is a weirdo._

Gaara closed his eyes, and then opened them again. Then he said, "When someone dear to you is taken away, what would you do?"

Completely nonplussed, Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron behind Gaara's back. Gaara continued. "What would you feel?"

"Um… it depends on how they're taken away," Ron said.

"If they were taken away right in front of you, and you couldn't do anything to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy. You know that the enemy will not hesitate to torture your loved ones for information," Gaara said. His eyes were staring off somewhere far, far away.

"Well," Harry said quietly. "I would feel helpless… like I was completely useless and not strong enough." Gaara glanced at him, and then looked away.

"Exactly," was all he said. "The feeling of helplessness… it's a terrible feeling. You described it quite well. Have you lost someone precious to you?"

"Well, I didn't know him very well," Harry said.

"The Diggory boy?" Gaara asked. Ron sucked in a breath; he knew how touchy Harry was to this subject.

"Yeah," Harry said. Images of _that_ night flashed through his mind's inner eye.

"I read a report on him," Gaara said. He was looking out the window again. A silence grew between the three boys.

"Can I ask you something?" Ron said timidly. Gaara inclined his head and Ron took that as a yes.

"How old are you?" Ron said. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Gaara sigh.

"Old enough to drink," Gaara said, "but I suppose that's not the answer you're looking for, no?"

He brushed a hand through his hair, and said, "When I first came here, I was seventeen. I've already had my birthday in January, so now I'm eighteen. A few of us are eighteen already, because we've already had our birthdays. Hyuuga-san, or should I say, Neji, and Tenten are a year older than us."

Harry stared. Ron stared. They both stared. Gaara noticed their looks, and then asked, rather self consciously, "What?"

"You've killed people," Harry said.

"And?" Gaara said. He looked genuinely bemused.

"You're only seventeen," Ron whispered, "or rather, eighteen."

"I started when I was about seven," Gaara said. "It's no big deal in the ninja continent." His eyes suddenly turned deathly cold. "All things must die. We ninja just happen to shorten that process."

Harry inwardly flinched at the casual way that was said. It sounded too callous, too cold hearted to be coming from such young lips.

"We're… going to be late to class," Harry said, hastily dragging Ron away. "Um, see you later." He and his friend disappeared around the corner. Harry walked away quickly, not wanting to stay in the company of Gaara.

It never really shook him this much before. He knew that the ninja were killers, but after hearing that from Gaara himself, and the uncaring way he acted, it suddenly seemed more real, more horrific. But still…

Gaara watched the two boys go with an impassive face. He knew why Harry had wanted to get away from him so quickly. He wasn't a fool. His presence was frightening; he was aware of that. He wasn't necessarily offended. Harry and Ron were merely civilians; they wouldn't understand the full extent of what a shinobi was, what they did. Also, he had grown used to the Suna villagers running away from him, so he couldn't care less.

"They are sheltered," he said, appearing to be speaking to the air, "too sheltered. They do not know of life outside these castle walls. The world is a constant battle. Survival of the fittest; only the strong will live in a place like this, both in the ninja continent and in the wizarding dimension."

Someone behind him shifted, and Dumbledore moved out from the shadows, his twinkling blue eyes unusually serious. Gaara turned to look at the solemn headmaster.

"Good day, Dumbledore-san," Gaara said. Dumbledore nodded.

"And to you, Gaara," Dumbledore replied. Gaara fixed him with a hard glare.

"Do you understand what I am talking about?" Gaara said. He repeated himself. "The rule out there is survival of the fittest." Dumbledore sighed and turned to look out the window as Gaara had done before.

"They are young," Dumbledore murmured, referring to his students, "I do not wish for them to see carnage at such an early age. They deserve their childhoods. A wizarding childhood is one that is filled with love and joy."

"A shinobi's childhood is one of blood, training and death," Gaara said quietly. "But though we have experienced much, it has shaped us to what we are now."

Dumbledore shook his head, chuckling without humour.

"My, my," Dumbledore said. "When I went to the ninja continents, I admit that even I was shocked at what lives you ninja lead." Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow.

"You've visited our lands?" Gaara said. His interest peaked, and he ignored the slight pain in his neck that told him that his muscles were weary.

"Secretly," Dumbledore said. "The trip was illegal; I wasn't supposed to be there, but the Third Hokage was quite an amusing fellow, and he hid me. I only stayed there for a few weeks, but in that time, I learnt quite a lot."

"I see…"

"But, Gaara," Dumbledore said, returning to seriousness. "They are wizards, not ninja. I know that you know the difference between the two."

"Unfortunately," Gaara said dryly. "For one, wizards are incredibly unfit." Dumbledore laughed, and then sighed.

"When you ANBU first presented yourselves to me," Dumbledore said, "I was surprised, to say the least; particularly when I saw Mr Uzumaki. Though you were all wearing those masks, I saw that behind the coldness that all of your eyes held, there was a sort of warmth.

"I know that many shinobi do not have parents, or they have lost one because they were killed in action. Shinobi do not form much parental bonds, because their parental figure is often missing. Therefore, they will form ties with other shinobi, mostly ones within their age group, because if they don't, then who else will they bond with?"

Gaara silently took in all that Dumbledore had said, his eyes never leaving the old man's face.

"You have learnt much in your time spent within the ninja continents," Gaara said finally. "What you say is mostly true, except shinobi will mainly avoid making friends, because they will become your weakness. Another thing about the bond forming between people: there will always be the abnormalities in the age group. There will always be one who is most often alone, and unable to form ties with anyone."

"Yes, but I assume that they will, in time, no?" Dumbledore said. The twinkle was back in his eyes. Gaara's face remained smooth, but inside, he was admiring the old man's skill at judging others and drawing conclusions.

"During my time there, I saw Mr Uzumaki. He was only about seven then…" Dumbledore said, "And there was so much hate in his eyes. I remember… the Third Hokage was so saddened to see the division between Mr Uzumaki and the villagers. But he couldn't force them to acknowledge one who houses the demon who killed so many shinobi."

Gaara sighed.

"Loneliness is indeed a terrible thing," Gaara said. His voice was hollow, flat. He gazed at Dumbledore, and the headmaster was suddenly looked at by cold, bottomless jade green eyes, one that knew what pain was, had suffered it, and had begun to hate the world around him because of it. Dumbledore knew that only one type of person would have eyes like those, but he had never really seen them before. He somehow knew that they were the eyes of a Jinchuriki.

Silence stretched between the two, before Dumbledore broke it.

"I see," Dumbledore said quietly. "So you are a Jinchuriki." His eyes were sorrowful.

"Not anymore," Gaara said. "It was extracted from me." Dumbledore frowned.

"But Mr Uzumaki said that if the Tailed Beast is extracted from its host, then the host will die," Dumbledore said.

"What he said was true," Gaara replied. "I died, but I was revived by an elder of my village in exchange for her life."

"Strange," Dumbledore mused. "No spell can ever bring back the dead, and yet you're here in front of me."

"It wasn't a spell," Gaara said. "It was a jutsu. May I remind you that chakra is different to the magic you wizards perform here?"

"Of course, that is very true," Dumbledore said. "We may be wizards, and you may be shinobi. We may cast spells, while you mould chakra, but there is one thing in common between us, and that will never change."

"And that is?" Gaara queried. Dumbledore smiled.

"The thing we have in common is that we are humans," Dumbledore said. "We feel pain, sadness, grief, joy, happiness and anger, because we are all capable of loving and hating. We are not gods; as you said before, all things must die. No, we are not gods, but mere mortals."

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, this chapter was mainly about the ninja planning stuff in the first bit, and Gaara's and Dumbledore's conversation in the second. It's boring. I'm sorry~!<strong>

**Everything about Dumbledore's visit to the ninja continent and him being friends with the Third Hokage will be explained later on. So I guess this chapter is pretty important, yah?**

**Mark Pilate is Jason Fleance's best friend. I figured that it would be nice if he had an obnoxious, annoying personality, so there you go. I needed some student-ninja interaction, so that's why he's there.**

**Because this chapter really sucked, next one will be up next week. I'm on holidays now, so I have lots of free time :P**


	20. Pressure

**I have returned! Last chapter was a filler chapter, so this one is back onto the actual story ^_^**

**Phew, the chapters have reached the twenties :DD**

**For the first little bit of the chapter, please refer back to around the end of Chapter Eighteen. For those who can't be bothered, it picks up right after Harry had the dream where he was Voldemort and he was talking to Rookwood, and then talking to Madara, and Madara reveals that they are going to attack Hogwarts in around three weeks. There, I told you the whole thing T.T;;**

**Ha! The people who don't read Author's Notes won't understand what's going on~! Sucks to be them ;D**

**There weren't as many reviews as usual, but I guess that's to be expected. But thankfully, the ones who _did _review said that the previous chapter wasn't boring at all. Many of them said it was 'insightful'.**

**Thank you to the reviewers: Lupus-Cantus-Grimoure, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, Ichigo Mirai, SiriusBalisticPretzels, dangerous ninga, missie.1998, ice vixen, SasuHina4evr, Masked Bard of Chaos, tenshi-no-akuma-81, itachi-sasuke4ever, HypnoticFlames, StarKiss666, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, CalcBoy91, Spider's Thread, ShikaXLover, xXSolaine-GirlXx, verohey5, Scarlett Winds, Faith Bell and BeautifulxDestructionx**

**Chapter Twenty: Pressure**

* * *

><p>Harry was bursting to tell Hermione about the dream he had, but he and Ron could not find Hermione at all during break the next day. They knew that she was at the library, but they had run into Gaara and other distracting things had happened to prevent them from talking to their female friend.<p>

Finally, they had located her standing in their usual corner in the cool and breezy courtyard. There, Harry had told her every detail of the dream he could remember, including the part about the weird orange-masked ninja. When he finished, he and Ron gazed at her expectantly. Hermione said nothing, but stared at a kind of painful intensity at Fred and George, who were both selling Headless Hates from under their cloaks on the other side of the yard.

"So that's why they killed him," she said quietly, withdrawing her gaze from Fred and George at last. "When Bode tried to steal this weapon, something funny happened to him. I think there must be defensive spells on it, or around it, to stop people touching it. That's why he was in St Mungo's, his brain had gone all funny and he couldn't talk. But remember what the Healer told us? He was recovering. And they couldn't risk him getting better, could they? I mean, the shock of whatever happened when he touched that weapon probably made the Imperious Curse lift. Once he's got his voice back, he'd explain what he had been doing, wouldn't he? They would have known he'd been sent to steal the weapon. Of course, it would have been easy for Lucius Malfoy to put the curse on him. Never out of the Ministry, is he?"

Hinata, currently hiding from their view, was very impressed by the way Hermione was able to use the information given to her to form her own conclusions, which, by the sound of it, was very close to the truth. She shifted, moving her unusually sore leg into a more comfortable position.

"Lucius Malfoy! He was even hanging around that day I had my hearing," said Harry. "In the – hang on…" he said slowly. "He was in the Department of Mysteries corridor that day! Your dad said he was probably trying to sneak down and find out what happened in my hearing, but what if –"

"Sturgis!" Hermione gasped, looking thunderstruck. Hinata tilted her head.

"Sorry?" said Ron, looking bewildered.

"Sturgis Podmore –" said Hermione breathlessly, "arrested for trying to get through a door! Lucius Malfoy must have got him too! I bet he did it the day you saw him there, Harry. Sturgis had Moody's Invisibility Cloak, right? So what if he was standing guard by the door, invisible, and Malfoy heard him move – or guessed someone was there – or just did the Imperious Curse on the off-chance there's be a guard there? So, when Sturgis next had an opportunity – probably when it was his turn on guard duty again – he tried to get into the Department to steal the weapon for Voldemort – Ron, be quiet – but he got caught and sent to Azkaban…"

She gazed at Harry.

"And now Rookwood's told Voldemort how to get the weapon?"

"I didn't hear all the conversation, but that's what it sounded like," said Harry. "Rookwood used to work there… maybe Voldemort will send Rookwood to do it?"

Hermione nodded, apparently still lost in thought. Then, quite abruptly, she said, "But you shouldn't have seen this at all, Harry."

"What?" he said, taken aback.

"You're supposed to be learning how to close your mind to this sort of thing," said Hermione, suddenly stern.

"I know I am," Harry said, "but this helps a lot of people! Even the ninja received information…"

"Well, I think we should try to forget what you saw," said Hermione firmly. "And you ought to put a bit more effort on your Occlumency from now on."

Hinata quietly slipped away and tapped her radio.

_"This is Hinata,"_ she said, _"Captain?"_

_"Yes,"_ came Naruto's voice from the radio.

_"I have a lot to report to you…"_

_"Go for it."_

* * *

><p>"Get up, Potter."<p>

A couple of weeks after his dream of Rookwood and Madara, Harry was to be found, once more, kneeling on the floor of Snape's office, trying to clear his head. He had just been forced, once more, to relive a stream of very early memories he had not even realised he still had, most of them concerning humiliations of Dudley and his gang had inflicted upon him in primary school.

Tenten and Sakura were watching over Harry tonight, and they both stared as Harry fell again and again and again due to Snape's spell.

"That last memory," said Snape. "What was it?"

"I don't know," said Harry, getting wearily to his feet. "You mean the one where my cousin tried to make me stand in the toilet?"

_"Stand in the toilet?"_ Tenten murmured. _"That's disgusting."_

_"What kind of person is this Dudley?"_ Sakura whispered.

_"The bully, no doubt,"_ Tenten replied.

"No," said Snape softly. "Not that one. I mean the one with a man kneeling in the middle of a darkened room…"

"It's… nothing," said Harry. Tenten watched as Snape's eyes bore into Harry's, and as the boy blinked and looked away.

_You are so totally lying,_ Tenten thought.

"How do that man and that room come to be inside your head, Potter?" said Snape.

"It –" said Harry, looking everywhere but at Snape, "it was – just a dream I had."

"A dream?" repeated Snape.

There was a pause. Tenten shifted slightly, turning her gaze to a dead frog suspended in a jar of purple liquid.

"You do know why we are here, don't you, Potter?" said Snape, in a low, dangerous voice. "You do know why I am giving up my evenings to this tedious job?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Remind me why we're here, Potter."

"So I can learn Occlumency," said Harry. Tenten's attention wandered, her gaze shifting from a dead eel to a sea urchin to, strangely enough, a horn from a rhino.

"Correct, Potter. And dim though you may be, I would have thought that after over two months of lessons you might have made some progress. How many other dreams about the Dark Lord have you had?"

"Just that one," said Harry. Tenten could tell that he was lying. She rolled her shoulder, working out the kinks and knots.

"Perhaps," said Snape, his dark, cold eyes narrowing slightly, "perhaps you actually enjoy having these visions and dreams, Potter. Maybe they make you feel special – important?"

_Where is he getting all this from?_ Tenten thought despairingly. _Snape-san has a major attitude problem… _

"No, they don't," said Harry.

"That is just as well, Potter," said Snape coldly, "because you are neither special nor important, and it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters."

"No – that's your job, isn't it?" Harry shot at him.

_What does Potter-san mean by that?_ Tenten thought. She cast her brown eyes over to Sakura, who glanced back, and the two kunoichi shared a private look.

"Yes, Potter," Snape said, his eyes glinting. On his face, there was a curious, almost satisfied expression. "That is my job. Now, if you are ready, we will start again."

He raised his wand: "One – two – three – _Legilimens_!"

Tenten knew at once that something was going to happen as soon as the spell hit her charge. Harry's face became blank, as usual, but then, it twisted, and life returned to it. She watched as Harry raised his wand as well, and cried out, "_Protego_!"

Snape staggered – his wand flew upwards, and Tenten frowned when she saw Harry's mouth open slightly, and he stumbled to the ground.

"ENOUGH!"

Sakura darted forward and caught Harry as the boy flew backwards. They both slid to a stop right in front of one of the shelves, and let Harry go.

"Thanks, Haruno," he gasped. Sakura inclined her head and went back to Tenten. Harry turned to face Snape again.

"Well, Potter… that was certainly an improvement…" Panting slightly, Snape straightened the Pensieve in which he had stored some of his thoughts before starting the lesson, almost as though he was checking they were still there. "I don't remember telling you to use a Shield Charm… but there is no doubt that it was effective."

_"Something happened,"_ Tenten said. She was staring with a great intensity at Harry. Sakura made a small sound of agreement.

_"Yeah, his facial expression was unnatural for a split second,"_ Sakura said.

"Let's try again, shall we?" said Snape. Harry's face flashed with dread, but Tenten knew that it was not in her place to do anything.

"On the count of three, then," said Snape, raising his wand. "One – two – _Legilimens_!"

This time, a look of pure joy and excitement crossed Harry's face, before it was replaced by one of exhaustion. Tenten watched Harry, fall, and Snape shout out, "POTTER!"

"Explain yourself," said Snape, who was standing over him, looking furious.

"I… dunno what happened," said Harry truthfully, standing up. "I've never seen that before. I mean, I told you, I've dreamed about the door… but it's never opened before…"

"You are not working hard enough!"

_"Why is he so pissed?"_ Sakura asked. Tenten shrugged.

_"Because he normally is,"_ she replied.

"You are lazy and sloppy, Potter, it is a small wonder that the Dark Lord –"

"Can you tell me something, _sir_?" said Harry, firing up. Tenten groaned inwardly. "Why do you call Voldemort the Dark Lord? I've only ever heard Death Eaters call him that."

Snape opened his mouth in a snarl – and a woman screamed from somewhere outside the room.

Tenten and Sakura instantly had kunai out, their faces towards the door where the scream had originated.

_"What is it?"_ Tenten hissed. Sakura shook her head and flitted out the door. Snape was also hurrying after her.

"What the -?" he muttered. Tenten could hear a muffled commotion coming from what he thought might be the Entrance Hall. Snape disappeared after Sakura.

"Did you see anything unusual on your way down here, Potter-san?" Tenten asked. Harry shook his head. Tenten sighed. "Well, come on; let's see what this is all about."

Harry followed the weapons mistress outside. Somewhere above them, the woman screamed again. Tenten quickened her pace.

The screams were indeed coming from the Entrance Hall; they grew louder as Tenten and Harry ran towards the stone steps leading up from the dungeons. When they reached the top they found the Entrance Hall packed; students had come flooding out of the Great Hall where dinner was still in progress, to see what was going on; others had crammed themselves onto the marble staircase. Tenten disappeared from Harry's view as she pushed her way through the crowd, and she found that the onlookers had formed some sort of great ring, some of them looking shocked, others even frightened. Professor McGonagall was directly opposite Tenten on the other side of the Hall; she looked as though what she was watching made her feel slightly sick.

Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside-down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something Tenten could not see but which seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.

"No!" she shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening… it cannot… I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realise this was coming?" said a high, girlish voice, sounding callously amused. Tenten knew at once what was going on. She spotted Neji a few people away from her, and she ghosted over to him.

"Making quite a scene, aren't they," she said lightly. Neji frowned, not looking at her. His pearly eyes were fixed on Professor Trelawney.

"Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realised that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't!" howled Professor Trelawney, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses, "you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

"It _was_ your home," said Umbridge.

"She's enjoying this," Neji murmured. Professor Trelawney sank, sobbing uncontrollably, onto one of her trunks.

"It _was_ your home, until an hour ago, when the Minister for Magic countersigned your Order of Dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You are embarrassing yourself."

"Why does she have to leave?" Tenten asked, bewildered. "She's sacked, but who says she has to leave Hogwarts?"

"That's the flaw that Dumbledore-san will use to his advantage," Neji said.

"Huh?" Tenten said, clueless. "Neji, what's going on?"

"You'll see soon enough," Neji said. "It was happening while you and Sakura were down guarding Potter-san."

Umbridge stood and watched with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Professor Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking backwards and forwards on her trunk on paroxysms of grief. Then, Tenten heard footsteps. Professor McGonagall had broken away from the spectators, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sybill… calm down… blow your nose on this… it's not as bad as you think, now… you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts…"

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for the statement is…?"

"That would be mine," said a deep voice. Tenten jumped; she could never sense the old headmaster.

The oaken front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled like bugs out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. What had he been doing out in the grounds Tenten could not imagine. Tenten threw Neji a dirty glance, and he smirked at the confusion and exasperation on her face as she was left out of the loop.

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" said Umbridge, with a singularly unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here –" she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes "- an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she – that is to say, I – feel is not performing to the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

Dumbledore continued smiling his little smile, to Tenten's surprise, and he looked down at the sobbing Trelawney and said, "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

_Ah, so this is the flaw that Neji was talking about,_ Tenten said.

At this statement, Professor Trelawney gave a wild laugh in which a hiccup was barely hidden.

"No – no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall – leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere –"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sybill."

He turned to Professor McGonagall.

"Might I ask you to escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course," said Professor McGonagall. "Up you get, Sybill…"

Tenten glared at Umbridge, who watched as Professor Sprout came hurrying out of the crowd and helped Professor McGonagall take Professor Trelawney upstairs. Professor Flitwick cast a charm on her luggage, so that it floated up after him. Tenten then tore her gaze away and looked at Dumbledore, who was still smile benignly.

"And what," Umbridge said in a whisper that carried around the Entrance Hall, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found –?" said Umbridge shrilly, in a high voice that clawed unpleasantly at Tenten's eardrums. "_You've_ found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-two –"

"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if – and only if – the headmaster is unable to find one," said Dumbledore. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

Tenten then felt a presence that wasn't entirely human enter the castle. Night mist drifted through the open doors, and Tenten saw a face that she recognised when she and Hinata were scouting the Forest a few months back. He had been with the herd, but he and Ronan had been the only ones who did not attack them.

White blonde hair and astonishingly blue eyes; the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.

"This is Firenze," said Dumbledore happily, his eyes twinkling. "I think you'll find him suitable." Tenten almost laughed out loud.

* * *

><p>"I'll bet you wish you hadn't given up Divination now, don't you, Hermione?" said Parvati, smirking.<p>

It was breakfast time, two days after the sacking of Professor Trelawney, and Parvati was curling her eyelashes around her wand and examining the effect on the back of her spoon. They were to have their first lesson with Firenze that morning.

"Not really," said Hermione indifferently, who was reading the _Daily Prophet_. "I've never really liked horses anyway."

"He's not a horse, he's a centaur!" Lavender protested.

"Why would she regret giving up Divination, anyway?" Ino asked dryly. She decided to sit with the Gryffindors that morning.

"Good morning, Yamanaka," Hermione said absent-mindedly.

"Because he is such a _gorgeous_ centaur," sighed Lavender, answering Ino's former question. Ino wrinkled her nose.

"You have a crush on _him_?" Ino said. Her pretty face was filled with disbelief.

"Well, don't you?" Parvati asked, sounding shocked.

"Eh? No way," Ino said. She turned back to her pancakes, which she found out that she rather enjoyed. "I already have a boyfriend anyway."

"Oooh!" Lavender breathed, "Who is it?"

"Hm? Why do you want to know?" Ino asked.

"We just do," Parvati said.

"Well, well, well, I never knew Hogwarts girls were so gossipy," came a male voice behind them. Ino rolled her eyes as Naruto came into view. He grinned toothily at Lavender and Parvati and then plonked his fist on Ino's head.

"Little bastard," Ino hissed.

"Aw, come on," Naruto said, feigning a look of hurt. "You know you love me." Ino glared at Naruto with poison-filled eyes.

Parvati and Lavender watched the exchange with gleeful eyes. They glanced at each other, smirking. Ino caught the look, though.

"No, Naruto is not my boyfriend," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "So you can forget about him, alright?"

"What's happened to Professor Trelawney," Harry asked. Lavender and Parvati promptly turned to Harry and Ron, and they both looked sad.

"She's not very good, poor thing," said Lavender sympathetically. "She was crying and saying she'd rather leave the castle forever than stay where Umbridge is, and I don't blame her, Umbridge was horrible to her, wasn't she?"

"I've got a feeling that Umbridge has only started being horrible," said Hermione darkly.

"Impossible," said Ron, who was tucking into a large plate of eggs and bacon; he always seemed to be eating. "She can't get any worse than she's been already."

"You mark my words, she's going to want revenge on Dumbledore for appointing a new teacher without consulting her," said Hermione, closing the newspaper, "Especially another part-human. You saw the look on her face when she saw Firenze."

After breakfast Hermione departed for her Arithmancy class as Harry and Ron followed Parvati and Lavender into the Entrance Hall, heading for Divination.

"Aren't we going up to the North Tower?" asked Ron, looking puzzled, as Parvati bypassed the marble staircase.

Parvati looked at him scornfully over her shoulder.

"How d'you expect Firenze to climb that ladder? We're in classroom eleven now, it was on the noticeboard yesterday."

Classroom eleven was on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall. Harry knew that it was one of those classrooms that were never used regularly, and therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom. When he entered it right behind Ron, and found himself in the middle of a forest clearing, he was therefore momentarily stunned.

"What the –?"

The classroom floor had become mossy and trees were growing out from it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, and all were looking rather nervous. Ino and Kiba were perched high up on a tree, Akamaru at the base. They were lying on one of the branches, their eyes closed, and the expressions on their faces peaceful. In the middle of the clearing, where there were no trees, stood Firenze, in all his centaur glory.

"Harry Potter," he said, holding out a hand when Harry entered.

"Er – hi," said Harry, shaking hands with the centaur, who surveyed him unblinkingly through those astonishingly blue eyes but did not smile. "Er – good to see you."

"And you," said the centaur, inclining his white-blonde head. "It was foretold that we would meet again."

Harry noticed there was the shadow of a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest. As he turned to join the rest of the class on the ground, he saw they were all looking at him in awe, apparently deeply impressed that he was on speaking terms with Firenze, whom they seemed to find intimidating.

_"Firenze-san is a strange centaur,"_ Ino said.

_"You mean a typical centaur,"_ Kiba muttered. _"He's not very clear about things, is he."_ It was a statement, not a question.

The two of them then tuned in to what Firenze was saying.

"Sybill Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know," continued Firenze, "but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense humans call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing."

_"Quite arrogant, that centaur,"_ Ino said. Kiba smirked in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Mr Potter," said a dangerously sweet voice. Harry's head shot up. Umbridge was standing over him, her pink lips pulls back into a fake little smile.<p>

"Yes, Professor?" Harry said.

"May I ask you what you are doing?"

"You may," Harry said without thinking. Umbridge's eyes narrowed.

"You were sleeping, Mr Potter," Umbridge said. The whole class watched in silence. "You were sleeping in my class. That's a week's worth of detention for you."

Harry groaned as she walked away.

_"Aiya,"_ Hinata sighed. She was about to prod the boy awake, but Umbridge had gotten there before her. "Potter-san, you really must start concentrating. Umbridge is really looking at ways to get you in trouble."

"So I've noticed," Harry said dryly, rubbing his eyes. Hinata shook her head and tutted.

"You should concentrate, Potter-san," Hinata said. "You should get good grades while in school."

"Say, Hyuuga, when did _you_ graduate?" Harry asked. It was a question he had been meaning to ask for ages. "I mean, do ninja have any sort of educational system?"

"Of course," Hinata said. "We are in the Academy until we graduate at twelve, and then we separate into three-man cells with a jounin instructor."

"Um… jounin?" Harry said blankly.

"A higher ninja, or elite ninja, if you will," Hinata said. She cleared her throat softly and then nudged Harry's elbow. Harry glanced up and then quickly looked back down at his book again. Umbridge was giving the pair of them the evil eye.

* * *

><p>February turned into March, and the ninja had been at Hogwarts for about seven months. Their self-defence lessons were going extremely well, and its members were proud to say that they now knew how to deflect certain types of jutsu.<p>

"You have no hope of blocking Kiba and Akamaru's _Gatsuga_," Ino said, "because it has too much force and chakra behind it. However, my mind jutsu is quite easy to deflect, or rather, dodge. When I use my jutsu to enter someone's mind, it travels in a straight line, so if you're moving around a lot, I can't aim properly. If my jutsu misses you, then I will be immobile for about half a minute and that is your chance to strike."

Ino disliked giving away so much information about her jutsu to a bunch of kids, but knew that it may save their lives. This Saturday, it was Ino's and Kiba's turn to teach the remaining fifteen members of the self-defence club. Once again, they were in a classroom.

"Things like Gaara's sand, you probably can't block either," Kiba said. "Again, it is too powerful. But if you are ever against any ninja, then the said ninja will probably view you as mere civilians and won't bother to waste their chakra on you. They will most likely just use kunai and shuriken against you. And you can block those."

"You mean we can use a Shield Charm?" Hermione asked, raising her hand. Ino nodded her blonde head.

"Very good, Granger-san," Ino said. "Yes, you can use your Shield Charm. I am pretty sure that it will work, but the effectiveness also depends on how strong your Charm is and how much force is behind the kunai or shuriken thrown at you."

Ino surveyed the silent room, and then called out, "Weasley-san, may you please come up here and be my demonstrator?"

Ron grew red as he realised that Ino was looking at him and not at Ginny. He nodded awkwardly and got to his feet.

"Come up here," Ino instructed, motioning to the blackboard she and Kiba were currently standing in front of. The dog nin and Akamaru moved out of the way.

"What do I have to do?" Ron asked. His voice trembled slightly. Kiba gave a laugh which almost sounded like a joyful bark.

"Don't be so scared, Weasley-san," Kiba grinned. "Ino's not gonna hurt you… well, maybe she will, if you don't react fast enough."

"Shut up, Kiba," Ino said. "You're scaring him."

They talked to the students as though they were little kids. Ino then turned back to Ron and smiled at him, but it did not put him at ease. His heart _did_ flutter at the sight of her strangely beautiful face, though…

"Even if it looks as if I will hurt you, Kiba will intervene," Ino said. She then drew out a kunai and pointed it at Ron. Ron immediately forgot his gushy feelings and focused on the shining blade in front of him. "Alright, when I throw this kunai at you, cast a Shield Charm."

"Wait, Yamanaka," Ron managed to say, but Ino had already thrown the sharp pointy object at him. He did not have time to react, and Kiba sighed, throwing his own kunai, which promptly deflected Ino's from its path. The two knives clattered to the floor.

"Again," Ino said. "Concentrate, Weasley-san."

After about ten tries, Ron's reflexes became quick enough to cast a Shield Charm, and when he did, Ino smiled at him.

"Very good," Kiba said. Everyone in the club got the same treatment, and by the end of the lesson, they could block kunai and shuriken quite competently.

"Next week, we will move onto deflecting jutsu," Ino said before the class dispersed. "Please gather at the lake!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Naruto was in Dumbledore's office and was reporting to him about Harry's dream a few weeks previous.<p>

"The Akatsuki and Death Eaters are going to attack Hogwarts soon," Naruto said blankly. "From my calculations, it will be around the week after next."

"So soon," Dumbledore sighed. The two of them were inside Dumbledore's office. The tinkling silver instruments whirled in their places, and small jets of jets hissed into the air every now and then. Dumbledore sat down on his chair, pressed his fingers together and rested his chin lightly on them.

"Very well," Dumbledore said after a minute of silence. "I will not tell the students the details, but I will warn them of what's to come."

"Alright," Naruto said. "There are some rules I would like for you to relay to the students." Dumbledore nodded, signalling for him to continue.

"The curfew for night time will be shorted down to eight o'clock. The students must be accompanied by a ninja at all times in-between classes. If there is no ninja present, they will wait in the classroom until they get one or they can get their current teacher for the lesson to take them to their next class.

"After dinner, each house will leave as one to their dormitories, guarded by a ninja. There will be no exceptions. The fifth and seventh years will be allowed to leave earlier, though, to get to their common rooms, because I know it is nearing OWLs time for them, so they must study. However, they will leave all at once and they will also be accompanied by a ninja.

"Teachers should travel in pairs, for better protection. During breaks, the students will stay within the castle. No visits out to the lake and all that. For the next three weeks, there will be no Hogsmeade trips. During the weekends, the students will not go outside. It would be best if they stayed either within their common rooms, the Great Hall or the library.

"And one other thing: I want your permission to let Gaara inspect the teachers' offices. Just a precaution, you know."

Dumbledore regarded Naruto silently as the blonde issued all the new rules. When Naruto was done, he nodded seriously.

"I shall relay that to the students," Dumbledore said. He felt as though the regulations were a little heavy, but he knew the ninja would not lay such rules without reason. "And Gaara has my permission to inspect the staff's offices." Naruto bowed in thanks.

"The Akatsuki do not care who they kill," Naruto said bluntly. "It's the same with Death Eaters. They don't care. That's why we have to keep the kids safe, just in case it gets out of hand."

* * *

><p><strong>Yay~! In the next chapter things will really be getting exciting XP Incoming battle! Well, not quite. It's the chapter after next.<strong>

**Okay, so a lot of people have asked to have a scenario where the guards show off their awesome shinobi abilities to the general magical community. I may not actually do this, as a helpful reader pointed out, THE NINJA DON'T CARE. Well, they might, a little bit, but not enough to show the wizards all their high-class jutsu and stuff. Then again, I may do a scene where they show off, but it's unlikely. **

**I swear this chapter is more boring than the last, because nothing happens and there's no enlightening conversation to perk it up.**

**Bleh, seems my writing quality has been dropping. I'm well aware many of you guys aren't happy with the latest chapter of 'Broken Wings'. *Moans* What the crap am I doing?**


	21. Get Ready, Get Set, Go!

**MERRY CHRISTMAS MINNA-SAN! For those who don't celebrate Christmas, then… GOOD DAY TO YOU!**

**I went and saw "New Year's Eve" with my friends the other day. It was a great movie ;D The cinema erupted into laughter and even applause quite a few times. It was hilarious. Then again, the cinema _was _filled with mainly loud, obnoxious teenagers like myself, but the movie itself was awesome. I recommend it.**

**Yay! Over five hundred reviews! And the five hundredth reviewer was... my sister... who just wrote random things in her feedback... T_T Hm...**

**Thank you to: Spider's Thread, The Shadow Moon, xXSolaine-GirlXx, StarKiss666, tenshi-no-akuma-81, Kyuubi No Tenshi, missie.1998, WinxPossible, The Liar Of Truth, Faith Bell, dangerous ninga, ladyyuuki16, Masked Bard of Chaos, GoldenMoon1997, Ichigo Mirai, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Furionknight, .x, nightliliesu, Ice Vixen X, Oderin-Kuro, HypnoticFlames, Immortalis Cruor Elf, Scarlett Winds, SasuHina4evr, Palace of Venus, AWESOME, Xtra, CalcBoy91, BewareTheIdesOfMarch, evil-step-sister, itachi-sasuke4ever and verohey5**

**Okies, last of the boring chapters. My Christmas present to you ;D**

**Chapter Twenty One: Get Ready, Get Set, Go!**

* * *

><p><em>~ Get ready ~<em>

"Why do you think all the new rules have gone up?" Ron asked at breakfast. Harry, who was busy shovelling down large amounts of eggs, shrugged and continued eating. Hermione, however, looked quite thoughtful.

"I don't know," Hermione said. She stirred her cup of coffee with a silver teaspoon idly with one hand. "It seems as though the ninja are expecting some sort of attack to commence. They've tightened their security."

"It could be something to do with the dream I had," Harry said. Understanding then dawned in his bright green eyes. "Of course! I forgot! The masked ninja in my dream said that the Akatsuki would attack Hogwarts in three weeks! They must be preparing for that!"

"Keep your voice down, Harry," Hermione hissed. "We don't want to panic the other students."

"Who cares?" Ron said. "They'll find out later anyway." Hermione sighed.

"There must be a reason why nobody knows about this yet," Hermione said. The three of them continued talking as they walked down to Care of Magical Creatures.

Down at Hagrid's hut, they spotted Hinata and Neji stationed outside the Forest. They appeared to be looking for something if the way their eyes continued to scan the trees were any indication.

_"I can't see anything,"_ Hinata murmured into her radio. She saw Neji shake his head, signalling that he saw nothing out of place as well.

_"Do you think we should enlist the help of the centaurs?"_ Neji asked. _"They know the Forest quite well."_

_"No,"_ Hinata replied, _"they're too proud. And anyway, I don't think they like shinobi anymore after what happened last time."_

Hinata saw Neji's lips quirk up, and she smiled too. She turned her attention back to the Forest. She spotted the herd of centaurs and, deeper within the Forest, she saw the web of giant spiders. A crackle at her radio alerted her.

_"Hinata… I just found something big."_

_"Eh? What do you mean 'big'?"_

_"Like… literally BIG."_

Hinata glanced over to where her older cousin was, and found him looking into the Forest with wide eyes. She quickly darted over to him. He simply pointed, and Hinata turned her eyes towards him, her Byakugan activated.

_"Oh my…"_ Hinata whispered. She then turned over to stare at Hagrid, who was busy teaching the class.

* * *

><p>"A giant?" Naruto repeated, "A <em>giant<em>? As in, an outrageously big man about forty metres tall?"

"_Yes_, Naruto," Neji said patiently, "a giant. An outrageously big man about forty metres tall."

"Well, then what the hell is he doing there?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Neji asked, the beginnings of irritation creeping into his voice. "I just found him there."

Naruto sighed. "Then you and Hinata can keep an eye on him. We don't know if that giant is native to the Forest."

"It could be. Strange things live in that forest, anyway," Neji said.

"Still, keep an eye on it!"

"We can just ask Hagrid-san," Neji suggested. "After all, he's the gamekeeper." His captain nodded.

"Alright, go and ask him," Naruto said, "and report back to me."

"Hai, Naruto," the Hyuuga said. Neji turned and body flickered out towards the grounds.

Neji sighed, thinking how troublesome this all was. He sounded like Shikamaru now.

"Hagrid-san?" Neji said, approaching the huge man. Hagrid was raking the side of his garden, and he smiled warmly when he saw the Hyuuga boy approaching him.

"Hi… Hyuuga, was it?" Hagrid said. Neji nodded. "What brings you here?"

"You are gamekeeper, right?" Neji said. "So that means you care for the Forbidden Forest as well."

"Well, parts of it, yeah," Hagrid beamed.

"Hinata and I were scouting the Forest, and we saw… a giant in there," Neji said. He watched as colour drained from Hagrid's face and instantly began to feel suspicious. "Is it native to the Forest?"

"Uh… well… he sort of is," Hagrid said evasively. Neji raised a perfect brow.

"What are you hiding from us, Hagrid-san?" Neji asked. Trust him to get straight to the point. "Is the giant dangerous?"

"What? No! Grawpy isn't dangerous at all!" Hagrid protested loudly. Neji's eyebrow twitched.

"Grawpy?" Neji repeated, his voice incredulous. "Its _name_ is _Grawpy_?"

"Well, technically his Grawp, but…" Hagrid trailed off as Neji glared coldly at him.

"Hagrid-san, are you sure that… _Grawp_ isn't dangerous?" Neji asked, stressing out the giant's name. He knew that the ninja's version of dangerous, the students' versions of dangerous and Hagrid's version of dangerous were all different things. Then again, the ninja's version and Hagrid's version were quite similar, but still…

"Well… he migh' like ter rip outta few trees an' all, but other than that he's a good boy," Hagrid said defensively. Neji stared at him in disbelief for a few more seconds, and then said, "It's got to go."

"No!" Hagrid said, his voice rising. "No! He can't go!"

"And why not?" Neji asked, his voice deadly. He did not like being argued with.

"Because he's got nowhere else to go," Hagrid said.

"I'm sure he hasn't been here for long," Neji said. "Take him back to where you found him."

"I can't! He'll get bullied… and…" Hagrid trailed off. Neji raised an eyebrow, signalling for him to continue. "Grawp… he's my brother." Neji almost choked on the air.

"That giant," Neji said slowly, a vein forming on his forehead, "is your _brother_." Skeptism dripped from his words. "That big-ass freak of nature who looks nothing less than a huge, deformed mountain is part of your _family_." He laid delicate stress on the word. Hagrid nodded eagerly, seemingly unaffected by the offensive statement. This was one of the first times Neji had sworn, but no one apart from Hagrid was around, so his teammates could not tease him about it.

"Please, I swear he ain' gonna do anythin'," Hagrid said. "I'll keep him in control."

Neji sighed, rubbing his temple. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming along. He just wanted to get out of here and go to sleep.

"Fine," Neji said, "but if Grawp messes up, he's leaving." Hagrid grinned broadly and reached out a hand to clap the Hyuuga on the shoulder. Neji dodged, knowing the effects from watching Hagrid slapping Harry and Ron on the backs.

"Thanks," Hagrid said. Neji let out a breath, bid good day to Hagrid and went back up to the castle.

* * *

><p>Gaara knocked on the door of Professor McGonagall's office while Shikamaru waited edgily beside him. He waited patiently, ignoring the twitching Nara boy and hearing the soft fall of footsteps behind the large piece of wood. He stared back blankly once he came face to face with the irritated expression of the Transfiguration teacher.<p>

"I came here to inspect your office," Gaara said, without so much as a 'hello'. Shikamaru grunted a "Mendokuse." He held out the slip of parchment that Naruto had given to him from Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall took the note and skimmed it, her thin eyebrows arching. Finally, she looked back up at him and handed him back the parchment.

"Alright," she said. "Come on in, then." She led him inside. "I'll be going to my next class. You're free to look around as much as you want." With that, she waved her wand at a pile of books and swept out, but not before reminding him to close the door after he left.

The Kazekage and the shadow user were left standing alone in the middle of the office. Shikamaru gazed around, taking in the neat stacks of parchment, the books all lined up on the shelves in alphabetical order and the clean desk and carpet.

"You can do this better than I can," Shikamaru said lazily. "What with your troublesome sand and all."

Gaara's lips turned up into a smile. He twitched his fingers and sand poured in waves from his gourd. He then let the sand seek out every corner of Professor McGonagall's office, and he closed his eyes, feeling every nook and cranny for anything suspicious. He also formed his Third Eye, and let it wander up to the higher shelves, checking for anything potentially dangerous. Gaara then opened his eyes again and drifted over to the Professor's drawers, opening them and dispersing his Third Eye.

_Look at all these report cards,_ Gaara thought. If Naruto had discovered these, the blonde would not have hesitated to read through him. However, Gaara was Gaara, and he felt no real curiosity over these files, and so, after checking them, he slid the drawer shut again. After this, Gaara stilled himself and made his mind concentrate and tried to search for any unusual chakra or magical pulses. When none came, the Kazekage concluded that Professor McGonagall's office was fine, and he walked silently out the door and shut it.

The next office Gaara and Shikamaru inspected was Professor Snape's. The Potions Master was in class, but the two ninja did not let that stop them. Shikamaru was not sure whether or not Snape had put any repelling charms on his door, and was relieved when all they had to do was pick the lock with Gaara's sand.

When they entered, their eyes worked frantically for a second or two to get used to the dim light that engulfed Snape's office. Eerie jars of pickled animals and animal parts loomed out from the darkness, all of them bathed in different coloured liquids.

_It looks like a typical mad scientist's laboratory,_ Shikamaru thought. _Hopefully, this office will be more interesting to inspect than the last one._

"Anything?" Shikamaru asked, noting the grains floating around in the air.

"Nothing," said Gaara.

He used the same tactics as last time; letting his sand search. While his sand was doing that, Gaara himself wandered around the office. He peered critically at a dead octopus floating around in murky blue water, and took it down from the shelf. As he stared at the octopus, he started to feel slightly sick and quickly put it back.

_I've never liked seafood,_ Gaara thought. That was probably because he grew up in the desert, and the desert is the farthest place one could be from the ocean. The one time he had eaten seafood, he had almost thrown up. Thankfully, Gaara had forced it down, as much as his pride would allow him to. He wasn't used to eating seafood. _I swear that octopus' eye is following me… disgusting, black, squishy thing…_

"Don't like seafood?"

Shikamaru's voice cut through the gloom. The Kazekage swore he heard a smirk in his voice.

"No. It's the fact that _they _don't like _me_," Gaara stated, turning away from the lifeless creature and looked back at the office. Shikamaru opened the drawers, and found a large stack of files on the students of the school. He closed the drawers again and straightened up. A glowing light in the corner caught his eye, and when he turned to look at it properly he found himself gazing at the Pensieve.

_Dumbledore-san said that it contains memories,_ Shikamaru thought. _I shouldn't get any closer to it. They're not my memories, and I don't wish to see them._ _Troublesome._

"And what are you doing here?" asked a cold, deadly voice. Shikamaru did not look at the speaker; he had known that he was there for a while now.

"Inspecting your office," Shikamaru responded mechanically. Snape's lips curled into a distasteful expression and he entered.

"Oh? And who gave you permission to?" Snape asked. Shikamaru still did not look at him, and Gaara was busying himself with staring at a folder filled with notes. Shikamaru was now gazing avidly at the shelf behind Snape's desk.

"Dumbledore-san," Gaara said. His sand grasped the piece of parchment and swept towards the Potions Master. Snape glanced at it, and grimaced. Gaara peered behind all the books on spells and dark magic. "You have a lot of things here about Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Snape twitched. "What of it?"

Gaara then looked at him for the first time, and he raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Nothing. I was just saying."

"Well, don't," Snape snapped. Gaara then paused, his jade green eyes boring straight into Snape's icy, black ones. A tense silence grew between them.

"You seem to have a stick up your ass," Shikamaru said finally. "Wait, no. Make that a whole troublesome tree." Snape's face twisted and he plunged a hand into his robes. His expression then grew confused as he groped around in his pocket.

"Looking for this?" Gaara asked. His sand reared into and shaped itself into an arm, and within its fist was Snape's wand. Snape scowled darkly.

"Give it back," Snape said dangerously. Gaara looked at him emotionlessly.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm not part of this," he muttered.

"You were going to curse me, or hex me, or whatever you wizards do," Gaara said. "I do not appreciate being attacked."

"And I do not appreciate having my wand taken away from me without my permission," Snape said quietly, "least of all by any of you ninja." He had already had his wand stolen from him in Grimmauld Place by Naruto, who was Fox at the time. Gaara contemplated giving Snape back his stick, but the decided against it. He was not feeling generous today.

"Gaara!"

Gaara let out a breath, slightly irritated. Luckily for Snape, Sakura had arrived. The girl in question was standing at the office door, her emerald eyes flashing. He turned his head to face his teammate.

"Sakura," Shikamaru said, "what brings you here?"

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "Naruto told me to accompany you guys in checking the teachers' offices."

"Did he now?" Gaara said. He glanced at Snape, and then, with slight regret, tossed him back his wand. Snape caught it silently. "Your office is clean."

Shikamaru and Gaara walked out the door, Gaara calling back his sand as he went. Sakura walked alongside them, and when Snape's office was out of sight, Sakura then turned to glare at the redhead.

"He was being annoying," Gaara said defensively. Sakura sighed yet again and ran a hand through her pink locks.

"Idiot," she muttered softly. "When Naruto told me to come with you, I thought to myself: 'There's no need; knowing Gaara, he'll probably be already finished and dragging Shikamaru's ass around.' And then, when I follow your chakra signature, I find you toying around with Snape-san's magic wand!"

_"Mendokuse,"_ Shikamaru mumbled. Sakura rounded to the Nara.

"And you! Why didn't you stop him?"

"It was troublesome," Shikamaru complained. He yawned widely and shoved his hands in his pocket.

Gaara shifted the gourd on his back and cuffed her head. Sakura rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away gently. Her eyes fell on his gourd and she frowned.

"Gaara, you should take the gourd off," she said. "I know that thing is really heavy, and it's probably stunted your growth, that's why you're so damn short. It may give you back pains later on."

"If I'm so short, then why am I taller than you?" Gaara asked.

"You are not taller than me!" Sakura said indignantly. "We're the same height!"

"I am approximately five point one centimetres taller than you (1)," Gaara deadpanned. Sakura pressed her lips together.

Sakura said, "How do you know how tall I am anyway?"

Gaara shrugged. "I have my ways."

More glaring.

"Stalker…"

"You wish."

"No, I don't."

"That's right, because _you_ used to be the stalker."

"What? And when was that?"

"I believe you used to stalk Uchiha Sasuke."

"I did not!"

"This is so troublesome."

"I don't believe you."

"Who told you that?"

"Naruto."

"You actually believe him?"

"For now, yes."

"… I'm going to kill Naruto later…"

"So you're admitting that it's true?"

"No!"

"Liar…"

"... Please shut up..."

Still bickering, Sakura, Gaara and a sighing Shikamaru finished checking all the teachers' offices, which took most of the day.

The last one was Umbridge, and with dread in their heart, they approached.

"This is the last lesson before dinner," Sakura said, "so she should still be in class."

Shikamaru picked the lock, and the door swung open.

"I think I need a sick bag," Shikamaru muttered. He had only been in Umbridge's office a few times, all not on very pleasant occasions.

"The room matches you hair," Gaara pointed out to Sakura. She rounded to him.

"Do not _compare _me to that hag or anything belonging to her," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Gaara, you search. I don't want to touch anything of hers."

The ugly kittens on the plates prowled, sickeningly cute, on their places in the high shelves. The pink doilies and pink vases of pink flowers sat on pink antique tables and the chairs were draped with pink lace.

"Amazing," Shikamaru murmured. "She's even got pink ink!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and picked up a pink roll of parchment.

_It really does match my hair, _she thought ruefully. _How depressing._

Gaara reported that there was nothing suspicious in Umbridge's office, albeit she had a lot of letters from the Minister. They quickly escaped the room, not wanting to be there for a second longer, and went off to dinner.

"I'm sick of all this heavy food," Sakura muttered, staring at the platters of roast beef and thick boats of gravy with apprehension. She frowned and straightened her back, pressing a hand against the tired muscles in the lower part of her spine.

"I'll say!" Ino said, sliding into a seat next to her friend. "All this food is making me gain weight."

"You've been eating it for a majority of months now," Gaara pointed out quietly. Ino grimaced.

"Because I couldn't be bothered going down to the kitchens to ask the elves to give us some normal food," Ino said.

Shikamaru did not say anything, but in truth, he also longed for more Japanese types of food. Even a simple bowl of noodles was welcome.

_A ninja should adapt to his surroundings,_ Shikamaru thought. The thought made him sigh, and he pulled a plate of pie towards him with a tiny amount of disappointment.

* * *

><p>Hinata curled up on the armchair in the bright yellow Hufflepuff common room. All of the students were down in the Great Hall eating their dinner, and so the common room was quiet and empty. The Hyuuga did not particularly feel hungry and so remained in the comfortable place in front of the fire.<p>

_So many things to do,_ Hinata thought moodily. _We have so many things to prepare for._

The common room door opened, and Hinata glanced up. A shock of yellow-blonde hair caught her eyes.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, jumping to her feet. "Is anything the matter?"

"Settle down, Hinata-chan," Naruto chuckled. "Everything's fine. I was just wondering why you weren't at dinner. Are you sick or something?"

Hinata sat back down on the armchair again. "No, I'm fine, thank you very much. I'm not hungry." Her captain sat down next to her. Silence blossomed between them, neither willing to break it. They were comfortable enough in each other's presence for the quiet to not be uncomfortable.

_When the silences are no longer awkward, you know you are around friends,_ Hinata thought. She remembered hearing that line vaguely from somewhere, but she couldn't remember clearly enough.

"Ne… Hinata-chan," Naruto said quietly. The blue-haired girl turned her gaze towards him. "This mission has turned dangerous."

"This mission always has been dangerous," Hinata corrected him softly. Naruto smiled wanly at her.

"I know, but I didn't register that fact. Now I know why this mission was ranked A and a possible S when Tsunade-baa-chan gave it to us." Naruto closed his mouth and stared at the carpet. "But… we could lose someone in a mission like this."

Hinata frowned, her eyebrows trekking downwards. "What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

Naruto chuckled softly, but it lacked humour. "Voldemort is not to be taken lightly. I know he is only a wizard, but he is a great mastermind. Dumbledore-san told me that he waited, bidding his time, for years before he decided to strike. He is like a serpent… waiting for the perfect moment to kill his prey."

"So you're worried," Hinata summarised. Naruto glanced at her.

"Yeah," Naruto said. Then, the usual, overly bright grin slid onto his face again. "You always know what I'm talking about, Hinata-chan." Hinata smiled at him, and then turned her pale, pearly eyes towards the ceiling.

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere (2)," Hinata said.

"Heh," Naruto said. The pair of them talked; talked of everything, but nothing at once. They talked to take their minds off the upcoming battle. They talked, and laughed, retreating into a state of peacefulness, both knowing that it wouldn't last long, but doing so anyway to enjoy it while it did.

* * *

><p>Tenten knocked the door of the staffroom. She was told to come in, and she did.<p>

"Hello," she said, smiling at the teachers present and bowing. Only four of them were there: Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape and, strangely enough, Dumbledore. "Naruto told me to inspect the teacher's staffroom. Gaara was supposed to be doing it, but _taicho_ has got him doing some other thing."

"Go ahead, my dear," Dumbledore said. "I've just got some business with these teachers, so if you would please excuse us, we'll be just outside." Tenten nodded and began making her way around the now empty room.

_Neji or Hinata would have been better at this,_ Tenten thought. _They could use their Byakugan. Tch, just because they're busy…_

Tenten began her search, and opened a cabinet at the far end of the room, but she had some difficulty dragging it open.

Tenten did not know what happened next, only that as soon as she managed to pry it open Rock Lee suddenly appeared on the floor in front of her. And he was dead.

_What is this?_ Tenten thought.

Tenten looked around wildly, and saw no one there to help her. Her teammate was wearing his usual green spandex, and his shiny bowl haircut was splayed around his head. Lee was lying on his stomach, a disgusting wound on his back. It was a large slash, going from his right shoulder blade and ending on his opposite hip.

"Lee," she whispered. "Lee," she said again, only louder. She began to sweat, and she started towards him, when there was a loud c_rack_ and Lee was gone, only to be replaced by Gai-sensei.

Gai's mouth was slightly open, as if he was surprised. One leg was broken; one arm was out of place.

"Gai-sensei," Tenten said. She drew a shaking hand into her kunai pocket and drew out the shiny, cold steel knife. She threw it towards her former teacher, but though it went through, the body did not disappear.

_Crack._ Dead Neji.

The Hyuuga boy's neck was twisted at the oddest angle, and blood pooled on the ground around him. She saw that several fingers were broken, and she could see ribs poking out from underneath his clothes. His empty, lifeless pale eyes stared out at her, and Tenten felt her heart beating faster, louder.…

"Neji."

Tenten's breath came in heaving gasps.

_Someone, help me…_

"NEJI! WAKE UP!"

The door of the teachers' staffroom was flung open, and Professor Dumbledore came sweeping in. The other three professors poked their heads in as well, and Tenten saw Harry Potter standing with them. His eyes grew wide when he saw Neji's body.

Dumbledore took one look at Tenten, then at Neji on the ground. He took out his wand, and said, quite calmly, "_Riddikulus."_

Neji disappeared, and Tenten was left staring at the place his body had been.

"It was a fake," Dumbledore told her quietly. "It's a Boggart. It takes on the form of your greatest fear." Tenten felt numb, but then, at the sound of the headmaster's voice, her head snapped up.

"Well, that was interesting," Tenten said, with a cheerfulness she could not understand. "I must get going now. Naruto would want me for guard duty." Still smiling, she skipped out the door. "See you later."

Tenten walked away quickly, her heart still pounding, and found a statue where she could hide herself for a while. She sank gratefully into its shadow and buried her face into her hands. There, she finally began to breathe properly again.

* * *

><p>Harry watched as Tenten spoke with a voice that was not quite her own.<p>

"Well, that was interesting," she had said. "I must get going now. Naruto would want me for guard duty." She had smiled, and then said, "See you later."

But perhaps what she didn't realise was that her voice had gone up a few octaves and her face was… _too_ happy. She had masked her horror with a smile, but even Harry could tell that it was false. She had brushed past him, still grinning weirdly, and walked away hurriedly, but not before Harry saw the mask slip and caught a glimpse of the pained expression her face wore.

"I think that Boggart moved in very recently," Dumbledore said. "That's why we didn't know about it until now."

Harry wasn't listening; he was still thinking about Tenten's reaction when she saw Neji's dead form. Somewhere in his heart, Harry was surprised.

_Why would I be surprised?_ Harry thought. _I already know that ninja have feelings. So why am I still surprised when one of them show more emotion than usual? Do I still think that they're cold-blooded killers? Wait… they are, but still._

Harry continued to ponder all the way to the common room, but when he saw Ron and Hermione, he felt a sudden urge to keep what he had recently witnessed a secret.

_Some things are better kept in the dark,_ Harry thought.

* * *

><p>It was Neji who found her some hours later. Tenten was still huddled behind the stature, and when his shadow loomed over her, she had looked up dully.<p>

"Tenten," said the familiar baritone voice. "What's wrong?"

Tenten looked up to the face she loved so much, and for a second, she saw his neck broken, his fingers and ribs broken, his body smeared with blood, and her heart clenched for one painful moment. Neji must have seen the look on her face, because he then sat down next to her and put a calloused hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing's wrong," Tenten managed to say. "Nothing's wrong… nothing's wrong…"

Neji did not say anything, and merely let Tenten try and squeeze the memories away, like dirty water from a sponge. Tenten was too independent to let anyone help her in something she deemed so insignificant. Still, Neji stayed, and his presence gave Tenten great comfort.

"Nothing's wrong."

"You don't have to hide."

"Nothing's wrong."

"I'm not that unreachable, am I?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Tenten..."

"... N-nothing's..." A heaved, choked breath. "Shit, Neji…"

* * *

><p><em>~ Get set ~<em>

Naruto jerked his head up, his sky blue eyes instantly alert. Beside him, Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the grounds outside. Naruto knew that in the other, various places in the castle of Hogwarts, his friends were watchful and prepared as well. They could all feel the dark, looming presence that came out from the Forbidden Forest. The enemy was coming.

_"Taicho,"_ Ino muttered through the radio. In times of serious danger, many of the ANBU in the squad reverted back to calling Naruto 'taicho'. Captain. Naruto nodded at her.

"Ino, come back to the Hufflepuff common room. You two stay together," Naruto ordered, referring to Hinata and Ino. "Make sure all the kids are inside their dormitories. Put traps around the common room, and don't come out until I call you via radio. I'm going back to Gryffindor tower."

_"Hai, taicho,"_ the two kunoichi said simultaneously. Naruto disappeared and sped back to where he knew Shikamaru and Kiba to be.

"Uzumaki-_taicho_," Kiba said when he saw his captain enter the common room. Naruto saw that the room was empty, and asked him, "Are the kids in bed?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. "We told them that it was an emergency, and that they should stay up in their dormitories until we say that it's safe."

"Good job, Shikamaru," Naruto said. He tapped his radio. "Tenten? Sakura? Are the Ravenclaws in their dormitories?"

"Yeah," Sakura's voice came out crackly and tinny. "They won't come out. We, uh, threatened them."

"I don't care how you did it, but as long as they stay in there, it's fine," Naruto said. "Don't come out until I say so, and remember the traps."

_"Hai, taicho,"_ Sakura said. Naruto then contacted Neji and Gaara. He tapped his radio and said, "You guys alright?"

"We're fine," Gaara said smoothly. "The Slytherins listened to us very obediently."

"Don't come out until I say so. Put traps around the common room," Naruto ordered.

_"Hai."_

Naruto then turned to scan the line of dark trees that marked the Forbidden Forest from the window. His sharp eyes caught a movement; a silver flash.

"They're coming," Kiba muttered. He laid a hand on Akamaru's large head.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "This is so troublesome."

"Shut up," Naruto said harshly. Shikamaru did not seem affected by his captain's behaviour. Rather, he had witnessed and received it too many times to care anymore. The genius knew that when danger approached, Naruto got edgy. He didn't really mean it.

_"Taicho?"_ Neji's voice came from Naruto's radio.

"Yes?"

"… I can see a very large crowd heading towards the school through the Forbidden Forest. I currently cannot see any Akatsuki members within it, but there are a large majority of Sound ninja. Judging from their chakra reserves, they are chunin and jounin," Neji said. Naruto could tell that he was tense. "They are still pretty deep within the Forest, so it will be approximately twenty minutes until they actually get out of it."

"Thanks Neji," Naruto said. He then contacted everyone else. "Everyone, this is Naruto. Go out to the Forbidden Forest; we'll meet the enemies there. Wear your masks." He beckoned to Kiba, Shikamaru and Akamaru, and they all darted out of the common room, careful to no set off any of the traps they placed. Beside him, Kiba gave a feral grin.

"Let's do this."

_~ Go! ~_

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Sakura's height in Shippuden is <strong>161cm **and Gaara's is **166.1cm**.**

**(2) Quote by Glenn Turner.**

**Ahahaha. Yeah. This chapter had implications of the pairings. There won't be any romance for a while now, so I just thought that I'd put it in XP For those who don't support GaaSaku, you can just think of their banter as pure friendship. For those who _do_ support GaaSaku you can read a little deeper into it X3**

**Okay, next chapter (finally) will be the fighting between our dear ANBU gang and the enemies, namely many Sound ninja and Death Eaters/Voldemort's followers who never really managed to become Death Eaters. I know I've said that for the past few chapters or so ;D No, the Akatsuki and Voldemort will not be there in person. Remember, this attack is to just test the castle's defences. Those evil little masterminds will deem it too trivial for them to actually come themselves.**

**For those who support GaaSaku, you should go and read 'The Duty' by Avium. It's a really, really good and hilarious fic ;D **

**This'll be my last update for 2011. I'll be away for a few days on holidays, so if I don't reply to PMs and reviews immediately, don't fret. **

**Merry Christmas~!**


	22. The Smell of Blood

**Happy New Year, everyone! Well then, this is the twenty second chapter in 'To Be Different', and we've got a battle in our hands. A fight to start off 2012 –.–;; I'm really nervous, because a lot of you guys have been looking forward to this chapter, and I'm afraid of disappointing you since battles are my weak spot, after all…**

**Thank you to the reviewers: WinxPossible, Kyuubi No Tenshi, MadnessLover, Ichigo Mirai, .x, poprockwitch, Masked Bard of Chaos, rawr, furuba-suzume, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, DreamingOfSerenity, wunsleh, StarKiss666, verohey5, SasuHina4evr, tenshi-no-akuma-81, ladyyuuki16, HypnoticFlames, CalcBoy91, xXSolaine-GirlXx, nightliliesu, itachi-sasuke4ever, anime-lyric and Kirby**

**Kirby did not review last chapter, but was getting... enthusiastic about being acknowledged in the reviewers section ;D So there you go.**

**In case you've forgotten:**

**Naruto – Fox**

**Sakura – Slug**

**Ino – Dove**

**Neji – Hawk**

**Hinata – Cat**

**Shikamaru – Stag**

**Wolf – Kiba**

**Dragon – Tenten**

**Gaara – Raccoon**

**Warning: coarse language ahead.**

**Chapter Twenty Two: The Smell of Blood**

* * *

><p>Wolf scrutinized the Forest with his slitted eyes, one hand on Akamaru's back and the other loosely by his side. He could feel the tremors of excitement creep into his body. He had been out of action for too long; his body had been low on stamina, and his calf muscles kept on aching. He wanted to fight again. This was perfect.<p>

The ANBU were about one hundred metres away from the Forest, all in a ragged line. They had told Hagrid and Fang to go up to the castle, lest they got caught in the crossfire.

"They came earlier than expected," Fox muttered beside him. "I anticipated that they would come around next week, not now. The teachers won't have time to put up their defences."

"Who cares?" Wolf said. "I've been itching to fight for ages." Akamaru barked in agreement, his tail wagging. "But why do we have to wear our masks again?"

"It's better if we don't let the enemy see our faces," Fox murmured.

Wolf could feel the giant mass of chakra and magical energy coming closer. He strained his eyes into the darkness of the Forest, but he could not yet make out anyone or anything in the gloom. Everyone was now silent. They were tense, their muscles ready to react to any flying spells or jutsu. The night was oddly quiet. No crickets sang, no owls hooted. It was as though everything was waiting… waiting for the battle to start.

Fox had sent off a _Kage Bunshin_ earlier to warn the teachers, and that they were to stay within the castle at all costs. Wolf wasn't sure whether or not Umbridge would listen, though.

"They're here." Wolf's sharp ears picked up what Cat had said. He could feel their presence as well; the mixed chakra, the wizards' loud footsteps and breathing. It seemed as though the Sound shinobi had taken to the trees and that wizards had stayed on the ground. There was about one hundred and fifty altogether. Whoopee…

A glaring red Stunning spell shot out from the darkness. It was awfully bright against the dark, moonless night. The spell came towards Fox, and the captain dodged. That was when the ANBU retaliated.

* * *

><p>"Go!" Fox shouted. Wolf obeyed instantly. Now, more Stunning spells shot out from the Forest. Fox split them up. Half of them would focus on the Sound ninja, and the other half would focus on the wizards. Wolf would be targeting the Death Eaters and other wizards. He scanned the Forest, and spotted a particularly large clump of wizards near him. He took out a kunai and ran towards them. He would save his chakra for later.<p>

Wolf's eyes emptied. His face grew cold. Beside him, Akamaru took no notice of the sudden change in his partner; he had seen it many times before. This was the Wolf in battle. He removed all his emotions and feelings, so that he could kill easily without hesitation.

The ANBU met the enemy at the beginnings of the Forest.

The kunai tore through the throat of a wizard, the skull mask that he wore reflecting oddly in the dim light from the castle. The wizard had no time to scream; he was already dead. Just as his body slumped onto the leaf-strewn ground, another fell behind him. Wolf adjusted his grip on the kunai and spun around. He slashed someone's chest and plunged the cold knife into another's back, and something filled the air.

It was the smell of blood.

Wolf spotted a green spell coming towards him, and with an unbelievably quick reaction, he leapt up towards the nearest tree. He quickly jumped back down again, unwilling to become a target for random Sound ninja. The others could take care of them.

Akamaru snarled and quickly snapped the neck of his victim with his powerful canine jaws. He moved quickly for a dog, almost unnaturally quickly, but he was, after all, a ninja dog.

Wolf flicked the kunai into a wizard's neck, and then grabbed three shuriken from his pouch and continued fighting. By now, the other wizards had seen him, and they were all shooting spells at him. Wolf managed to dodge them all, and quickly eliminated the attackers. That was when a Sound shinobi decided to make him his target.

Wolf noticed a strange ringing in his ears. At first he dismissed it, thinking that it was just the sounds of the battle that raged around him, but then it steadily grew louder.

"Akamaru," Wolf muttered woozily. The big dog perked up at the sound of his partner's voice. Akamaru whined, knowing that something was wrong. The dog sniffed, trying to find out the source of Wolf's troubles. Wolf spotted the culprit, high up in the tree. It was a Sound ninja, and it was evident that he was to blame for Wolf's ringing ears. He scrunched up his face as the pain in his head grew heavier. Wolf swayed on his feet, and the ninja, seeing that, raised a shuriken, and, with a wicked grin, launched four successive shots at him. Wolf collapsed to the ground, not facing the shinobi, the buzzing in his head becoming unbearable, and prepared himself for the shuriken. Akamaru barked, and Wolf felt the first shuriken dig into his back.

It struck his right shoulder blade, one of the places that were not protected by the silver armour that all ANBU wore. How convenient. The second one clanged into his armour and dropped down to the ground. Wolf bit his tongue and waited for the other two. They never came. A shadow loomed above him, and he saw Akamaru expertly catching the third shuriken in his jaws. But now the dog was vulnerable.

"Move, Akamaru!" Wolf shouted. He could see the glint of the last ninja star coming closer. Dread sprouted out of his heart, but then his eyes widened in surprise as they were deflected by a kunai.

"Get up, you idiot," came a familiar voice.

"Dove," Wolf said. The blonde girl raced over to him and heaved him up.

"Can you move with that?" Dove asked, nodding at his wound and wrenching the shuriken out of his shoulder blade. She sent a kunai up the tree where the Sound ninja was, but it was sent back.

"I'm fine," Wolf said. "Thanks."

"Watch your back," Dove said. She then engaged the Sound ninja in combat.

"Thanks buddy," Wolf whispered to Akamaru. He grimaced as the pain in his shoulder hindered his movements, but then decided to ignore it. "Alright, let's go."

He saw a white spell hit Hawk in eyes, and watched as the Hyuuga stumbled. He quickly stepped in and finished off the wizard who shot the spell.

"You alright?" Wolf asked, bending over the Hawk. Hawk nodded and said, "I'm fine, thanks," and blinked his eyes. He then got up and started fighting as though nothing had happened. Wolf had a bad feeling in his gut, but then shrugged it off.

* * *

><p>Cat darted up a tree, willing for her steps to stay quiet. It wasn't hard; the sounds of kunai on kunai, shuriken in flesh and the loud battle cries of the Death Eaters masked her sounds. She ignored the wizards; they were easy to target. Fox had told her to close the tenketsu (1) of the enemy ninja. They were the ones to look out for, as they, unlike the wizards, would keep their movements silent.<p>

"_Byakugan,"_ she murmured. She brushed her hair away irritably; the majority of it had fallen out of the ponytail she was keeping it in. Her hands glowed as she ran up the tree, her pale eyes focused on the shinobi who currently had her back to the Hyuuga. Like the cat that her mask depicted, her footsteps were muted, her movements graceful and quick, and she merely tapped her opponent in as many places as she could before the ninja fell out of the tree. Cat jumped down after her, and, quelling her uneasiness, slit the ninja's throat with a kunai.

_Next one,_ Cat thought. As she ran up another tree, she dodged a misfired spell; it hit a wizard in the back, and he fell to the ground in spasms before stilling, his eyes wide and staring, and his chest no longer moving. Cat kept in the shadows; if a ninja wanted to stay hidden, it would be practically impossible for a civilian, or wizard, in this case, to find them.

The ground shook as Slug used her chakra-enhanced fist to send enemies flying (also killing them from the impact) and yells of _"Shannaro!" _and _"Okasho! (2)"_ rang out through the Forest.

Cat heard a shout of, "Rasengan!" to her left, and gave a wry smile. Fox wasn't one to stay quiet for long, or Slug as well, for that matter. She winced when she heard a tree fall to the ground, squashing quite a lot of wizards. With her Byakugan still activated, she made a small sound of surprise when she saw some unwelcome visitors.

"Fox-taicho!" Cat said into her radio. Hopefully he would hear her and that her interruption wouldn't hinder him.

"Cat, what is it?" Fox asked.

"The centaurs are coming," Cat said, her eyes fixed on their incoming forms. "They are armed with bows and arrows." She heard her captain groan.

"Great," he muttered. "Well, just leave them be, and make sure they don't try to shoot you. They're probably coming to drive away the offenders in 'their' Forest."

_Oh dear, please don't let that giant come as well,_ Cat thought. She resumed rendering enemy shinobi useless with her Gentle Fist technique, and she kept a wary eye out for any rogue spells or arrows.

* * *

><p>Wolf spun around, and then, random though it may seem, the words of his ANBU instructor filled his mind.<p>

"_Make sure the blade is comfortable in your hands," his instructor had said. He was a heavy-set ninja will two deep scars running across his face. He was merciless and had trained Wolf and his teammates for hours on end. "Grip it tightly."_

Wolf took out another kunai from his pouch, twirled it once, and then held it still.

_Seek out your enemy, and once you do, never take your eyes off them._

He glanced about and spotted a Sound ninja. The ninja's back was facing Wolf, and he was busy felling trees, making Wolf's comrades dodge and keep their attention on him and their opponent.

_Now look for an opening._

The Sound shinobi's neck was bare, as if screaming 'kill me! I'm open!'

_Make sure there are no other enemies lurking about. Don't use your eyes. Use your other senses. Remember, your eyes are on your enemy._

Wolf let his senses run free and he checked his surroundings without looking.

_Once you are sure, move in for the kill._

Wolf darted forwards, his footsteps unheard as the sounds of clashing metal filled the air. He leapt high, his kunai raised, and then brought it down. The Sound ninja grunted as Wolf dug the kunai into his neck. His body slumped forwards.

Wolf yanked the blade out, satisfied, and began to look around for another enemy.

_This is the most important part, though: always make sure your opponent is dead before you turn your back on them._

Pity Wolf had forgotten that bit.

Wolf sensed something behind him, and he twisted around just as he saw the Sound ninja he had just defeated raise his hands weakly into a hand sign that Wolf knew very well.

"_Kai."_ Release.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Ron asked groggily. Harry sat up in bed as well, blinking away sleepiness. "Sounds like a massive army fighting."<p>

Harry made his way drowsily over to the window, peering out, but not expecting to see anything. What he saw jolted him wide awake.

"Ron," Harry whispered, memories of what had happened earlier racing through his head: Shikamaru and Kiba's serious faces, their words of warning. "They're fighting."

"What?" Ron whispered, hurrying over to stand beside Harry, "Already?"

"Can't see anything though," Harry muttered, "just all these flashes and shadows."

"They've been fighting for about twenty minutes," came a sudden voice behind them. The two boys jumped and twisted around, seeing Dean Thomas standing there, fully awake, his eyes alert.

"Haven't you been asleep?" Ron asked. Dean shook his head.

"Couldn't sleep," Dean said, "I was just lying in bed, and then I heard someone shout out, like a battle cry. I went over to the window and saw the guards running into the Forest. They were running so fast, though, like cheetahs, or maybe even faster than cheetahs..."

"Yeah, they do that," Harry said grimly, remembering back to when he first laid eyes on the ninja, and Neji, who had been Hawk then, had flashed behind Mad-Eye Moody and pointed a kunai to his throat because the Auror had pulled out his wand. The three boys peered out the window again, forgetting about the other two sleeping inhabitants of their dorm.

BOOM!

"What was that?" Ron gasped.

"It sounded like a bomb," Harry muttered.

"What's that?" Ron asked. Harry didn't answer him. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the Forbidden Forest, where smoke was rising out of the treetops.

* * *

><p><em>That bastard,<em> Wolf thought. He clung to a tree for support, gasping for breath. Akamaru was beside him in an instant. _He put a freaking exploding tag on me! Lucky he didn't have much chakra left to infuse into the bomb otherwise the explosion would have been much bigger._

He had escaped the blast, but his back was still slightly burnt. His armour was piping hot.

"Are you alright?" Raccoon called. The other ninja had managed to get away safely, after Wolf had given them a loud and proper warning.

"Yeah," Wolf said. "I used a Substitution Jutsu." A log had been barbequed in Wolf's place.

"Be careful," Raccoon said and then disappeared. Wolf winced at the pain his shoulder and back was giving him, and then moved on.

* * *

><p>Fox flashed around all the wizards that he had assigned himself to take care of. Hawk and Cat were giving him reports on where the enemies were and how much progress they had made towards the castle. Fox knew that they were winning; it was only one hundred and fifty wizards, chunin and jounin. They were ANBU. The blonde boy grinned, having thought of something that would make it easier to fight the enemies. Fox took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air. Being loud was his speciality, after all, and he <em>was<em> the Number One Hyperactive, Knuckleheaded Ninja, after all, and not to mention the most surprising.

"I GIVE UP!" Fox hollered.

What happened next was something Fox found very amusing. The sounds of the battle stopped, the wizards stopped, the ninja stopped, his teammates stopped, the spells stopped, the jutsu stopped, heck, even the Earth stopped, as everyone snapped their heads towards the loudmouthed ninja. Fox was up in a tree, and he watched as around one hundred eyes turned themselves towards him, all of them wide with disbelief.

* * *

><p><em>Did he just say… that he gives up?<em> Wolf thought. He knew his mouth was open. The kunai he was holding in his hands slipped out and fell onto the ground. Then, he saw the mirth dancing in Fox's eyes.

"Just kidding," he heard Fox whisper, and then his captain jumped out of the tree and began taking out the wizards at twice the speed than he was before.

_He's shocked the enemy,_ Wolf thought, finally catching on, _the announcement was so random; they all were completely stunned, making them easy targets because their guards were down._ _But he surprised us as well! Idiot captain…_

Wolf felt a sudden urge to laugh, but then fought it down.

_I'll laugh when this is over,_ Wolf thought.

* * *

><p>"Did you hear someone say, 'I give up'?" Ron asked, his forehead furrowing. "I swear I did."<p>

"It sounded like Uzumaki," Harry said. Dean and Ron rounded towards the scarred boy, fear written in their faces.

"Uh oh, were they overwhelmed or something?" Dean said worriedly. Harry shrugged, turning back to gaze at the Forbidden Forest.

"I don't know," Harry mumbled, "but I doubt Uzumaki is the type of person to give up easily."

* * *

><p>Cat blinked, her Byakugan detecting two new chakra signatures. And they weren't in the Forbidden Forest.<p>

"_Taicho!"_ she said into her radio. "There are two Sound ninja at the front doors of the castle."

She heard Fox curse, and then he replied, _"Cat, Raccoon, go deal with them!"_

"_Hai."_

Cat spotted Raccoon speeding from the battle, and she joined him. They darted over the lawn, back into Hogwarts, through the Great Hall and into the Entrance Hall. She saw two shinobi from Sound, and without braking, promptly slammed into the first one, leaving the other for Raccoon.

She and the Sound ninja tumbled head over heels in a furious struggle for dominance down the stone steps. Cat felt the edges digging into her back, but she ignored the twinges of pain.

"_Bitch!"_ the ninja snarled. She was a woman in her early twenties, bright purple hair and an eye-patch over her right eye.

"_We weren't expecting some of you to sneak in this way,"_ Cat said coolly, regaining her balance. _"Though Stag _did _predict the possibility…"_

"_Fucking idiots,"_ the kunoichi sneered. _"You focused all your forces on the Forest."_

"_But we got here in time, didn't we?"_ Cat reminded her. A kunai flashed out into her hand, and the kunoichi did the same. Cat dimly saw Raccoon's sand glittering in the darkness, but she then turned her full attention on her opponent.

"_Come."_

They flickered forwards, invisible to all except for the brief, shining sparks that appeared whenever their kunai crossed blades. Cat ran towards her left, startling the kunoichi and managing to hit her with a well-aimed kunai. The kunoichi snarled and ripped the blade out of her right bicep, fury streaked across her features.

Cat's hands glowed, ready to close her tenketsu. The Sound kunoichi threw away her kunai and her hands formed a hand seal. However, Cat did not let her get ready; she had already run forwards, feinting right and then going left. The kunoichi blocked her first strike, but Cat used that opportunity to close the tenketsu on her palm.

"_Fuck, you've gone into my blind spot twice now,"_ the kunoichi growled. _"Stupid eye." _She touched her eye patch.

Cat shrugged at her, smiling frostily, though she was aware that the kunoichi could not see it. _"Experience, my friend. You try to use everything you've got."_

The kunoichi hissed, and then body flickered towards her with a kunai. Cat, who was not expecting this, could only raise up an arm as the kunoichi attempted to slash her face, instead getting a long red cut on her inner arm. As the kunoichi finished the slash, Cat grabbed her other hand and pulled the Sound ninja towards her, closing the tenketsu over her heart, liver, kidney and lungs.

The kunoichi gasped, her one eye wide with pain. Cat used this momentary pause in battle to pull out a kunai, and then she stabbed her opponent's throat.

_Shit! _

Cat could only watched as a kunai streaked past her; one last attempt by the Sound kunoichi to do some damage to the castle. Attached to the kunai was an exploding tag, fluttering wildly in the wind.

Cat dropped the kunoichi's lifeless body, and only managed to scream out a warning to Raccoon before the great front doors of Hogwarts castle exploded.

* * *

><p>"<em>What was that?" <em>Fox asked sharply, feeling the tremors in the ground.

"_From the front doors; Cat and Raccoon went to intercept some enemies there," _Stag called back.

"_Stag, go help them!" _Fox shouted, and the shadow-user nodded once and bound away.

* * *

><p>Coughing away the smoke and prying open watery eyes, Cat stumbled from the explosion sight and over to Raccoon, who had killed his opponent and was currently staring wide-eyed at what the Sound kunoichi had done.<p>

"What happened?" Raccoon asked.

"Exploding tag," Cat answered, "my opponent had quite a lot of chakra left." There was a quick shadow, and they both tensed, before relaxing as Stag appeared in front of them.

"Well, isn't this a troublesome situation," Stag said, eyeing the front doors – or what was left of them – critically.

The exploding tag had detonated on the left door, which had been slightly ajar. This had blown a medium sized hole near the bottom of the door, which had collapsed due to its own weight, crashing into the right door and the result was a large, gaping hole in the castle. Stone from the ceiling and walls had crumbled as well, littering the floor with rocks the size of cars.

"You think that the teachers will wake up?" Cat asked tentatively. Raccoon rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well, since there's nothing to do here, let's head back to help the others. We'll explain this… later," Stag said, gesturing vaguely to the mess.

* * *

><p>"How did your fight go?" Cat asked easily, running with Raccoon back to the Forest. Raccoon grunted.<p>

"My head really hurts," he said. "The Sound ninja used some weird jutsu on me."

"Hm," said Cat, regarding her comrade's attire. "Looks like you had a bit of trouble, though."

"Shut up."

A chuckle. "I don't think there are any more enemies left."

"Good, though I enjoyed the battle."

"So did I. Great way to loosen up."

"Hn."

* * *

><p>"<em>What happened?" <em>Fox asked, neatly slitting the throat of a wizard and pausing in his attacks. Stag reported to him while Cat and Racoon rejoined the battle. There weren't many left.

"_Taicho, we've got all of them,"_ Cat said, landing carefully beside Fox.

"_Good,"_ Fox said, _"now could you make sure that all of them are dead?"_

"_Hai."_

"_And also collect all the kunai and shuriken you find. We're running short on them. I should get Tsunade-baa-chan to send over some more for us…"_

"_Hai."_

Fox sighed when he touched the wound on his leg. The side of the calves were not covered by armour, and so were susceptible to an injury. He started feeling lightheaded – not good. He had moved around too much and it had resulted in blood loss.

Fox felt his _Kage Bunshin_, whom he had sent off to keep the teachers in the castle, disperse, and he frowned when the burst of information flooded into him.

"Let me guess: the teachers are coming?" Stag said, walking up casually to stand next to him.

"Yeah," Fox muttered. Cat came back to confirm that all the enemies were dead, along with an armful of sharp weapons, and Fox took off his mask. Stag did the same beside him. "Wait… no, only Dumbledore's coming down." A lone figure came down from the castle.

"Why was it so early?" Dumbledore asked.

"The attack came a week earlier than expected," Naruto said coolly, coming up to meet him. He saw that the headmaster was in his purple, silver-starred nightgown, and his face, though serious, was white.

"_Taicho, do you want us to start disposing the bodies?"_

"_Hai."_

Naruto knew that, when training to be an ANBU, they would learn how to get rid of the bodies without leaving any evidence behind. It was a special jutsu, taught only to the ANBU members, since it contained many hand seals and could drain a lot of chakra if misused (3).

"_Make sure you get all of them."_

"_I know."_

"I do not wish the students to see this," Dumbledore said gravely. Naruto inclined his head.

"Do you really think we'll let them?" Naruto asked dryly. "The others are already taking care of the corpses." He saw that the old man looked slightly sick, though no emotion was on his face at all.

"And… the front doors," Dumbledore said. "The cause?"

"The enemy sneaked in front," Naruto said. He hesitated, and then ploughed on. "I think… that this has something to do with Potter-san. Not directly, no. But Voldemort became aware of the link between himself and the kid. I think he knew that Potter-san was present during his meeting with Madara, or at least, he felt the boy. It's possible that Voldemort and Madara neglected to mention the fact that they would send two ninja to the front doors, instead of concentrating them all at the Forest."

"But if they did that, wouldn't they make up the whole battle?" Dumbledore said. "Wouldn't they lie about where they would place their troops and such?"

Naruto shrugged. "Don't know. But they _did _come earlier than expected… And we're always on guard anyway, so…"

Dumbledore sighed, and then nodded. "Is everything alright here?"

"Yeah, though it's a pity we don't have any water jutsu users here; we could really use some to clear the blood away," Naruto said. Dumbledore smiled faintly and waved his wand; an enormous jet of water sprouted out of it and he waved it over the offending places. The smell of blood slowly disappeared, though not entirely.

"I know that Professor Sprout has a certain plant that likes to feed of the blood and carcass of corpses," Dumbledore said. "We only have one; she doesn't like them, but the seventh years needed to study it. I'll tell her to come down here with the plant tomorrow, just in case we've missed any spots."

"Thanks," Naruto said.

"_I think we're finished here,"_ Hinata's voice came from the radio. Naruto replied back quietly.

"_Thanks, Hinata-chan."_

"_Mm."_

"Our work here is done," Naruto said, grinning at the headmaster. Dumbledore nodded. "You should go back to bed too, Dumbledore-san."

"I have to fix the Entrance Hall first," Dumbledore said. Naruto bobbed his head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," Naruto said. Dumbledore waved a hand airily.

"Easily fixable," he said. "But you kept my students safe, so I'll thank you for that."

Naruto grinned at him, his smile shining through the darkness.

"You're injured, I'll send for Poppy," Dumbledore said. Naruto smirked and shook his head.

"It's alright. You're forgetting that we have two medic ninja on our squad," Naruto said.

"Ah, of course. Well then, I shall leave you to it," Dumbledore said, after a gracious nod towards the shinobi, he swept back up to the castle.

* * *

><p>Naruto glanced behind him, resting his gaze one last time at the carnage he and his team had caused, but now had disappeared. He sniffed his clothes; they smelled like blood.<p>

"Let's go, everyone," Naruto muttered. Shikamaru clapped a hand on his shoulder, something he always did after a battle alongside the blonde, and Naruto grinned tiredly at him.

"I can't wait to have a shower," Ino mumbled.

"I think we all do," Tenten said wearily.

_Hopefully, we'll have a break before something big happens again,_ Naruto thought, looking at his teammates. _Though I can't deny the fact that this battle was great for us; we'll been cooped up for a while. A ninja out of action for too long is never a good thing._

"Naruto," Kiba said. The blonde turned towards him.

"Eh?" Naruto said. Kiba whacked his head. "_Itai!_ What the hell, Kiba?"

"You idiot! Don't just randomly scream out, "I give up!" in the middle of a battle!" Kiba snapped. "Do you have any idea how much you freaked me out?"

"Ehehe," Naruto laughed, scratching his head sheepishly, "it seemed like a good idea at the time, and it worked."

"Next time, tell us before you do something like that again!" Kiba said.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Naruto protested. "How was I supposed to tell you? We were all busy fighting."

"You could have at least tried to give us a signal or something," Neji muttered. "If you want to take advantage of the surprise that it caused, there's no use getting us shocked as well." Naruto shrugged.

"But it worked," Naruto said, smiling. Gaara sighed in exasperation, and after a few seconds, everyone started chuckling as well. Naruto smiled as well, but then it slipped off his face as he swayed for a second, and in the background, he heard his friends' concerned voices. He felt himself rushing up to meet the ground, and then he blacked out.

* * *

><p>Neji saw his captain fall to the ground, but as he moved his muscles to catch the blonde, he felt a sudden spasm of pain shoot up to his eyes. A small groan escaped his lips. His vision was blurring, and his eyes were hurting even more now.<p>

"Ten... ten," he muttered. He felt the kunoichi's presence by his side.

"Neji," Tenten said urgently. She then called over Ino, leaving Sakura tending to Naruto. Neji swayed on his feet.

"Neji, what's wrong?" Ino asked. Neji's brow furrowed; the pain in his eyes was making it hard to for him to think. Neji saw his vision fading, and he expected himself to lapse into darkness as well, but to his horror, he remained fully awake. He could smell the blood, feel Tenten's weight next to him, and hear what Ino was saying. What terrified him was that he couldn't see.

He couldn't see at all.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Tenketsu = chakra points.<strong>

**(2) Okasho = Cherry Blossom Impact.**

**(3) I put in that (unnamed) jutsu, because the only other way I know of to get rid of lots of bodies at once is to heap them up and burn them all, but yeah... it's a little gross.**

**I know that when Fox/Naruto shouted "I GIVE UP!" it was in English, and you're probably wondering how the Sound ninja understood him. Well, they got temporary language charms placed on them, that's all XP It's easier to communicate with Voldemort + Death Eaters and whatnot.**

**Ahh! Everything happens to Neji, doesn't it? Poor Neji, getting picked on by me all the time. For those who have no idea what the hell I am talking about, I am referring to my other story, 'Broken Wings', where Neji gets *bleep* and *bleep*. **

**I really hope this battle met your expectations, as I know a lot of people were excited about it.**

***Anxiously awaits your responses***

**Happy New Year~!**


	23. Running Blindly

**Ahahaha XD Well, I got a great reaction last chapter. A lot of people were like, "Nooo! Neji!" and Naruto's "I GIVE UP!" was pretty popular as well XD**

**And this upload is in celebration of Gaara's birthday! ... And has told me that I have updated on the 18th... GODDAMMIT! It's the 19th! The 19th! I hate the international date thingy! It did the same with my Chapter Twenty Two update as well! It was New Year's Day in Australia when I updated, but told me I updated on the 31st 2011! **

**I feel the need to explain myself. As tenshi-no-akuma-81 has rightly pointed out, everything that has happened previously in this story have been centred among the female population (Sakura, Temari and Michiko getting kidnapped) so I figured it was high time that the dudes messed up. That's all ;D I don't have anything against Neji (I quite like him, actually) so yeah… I wanted Hinata to be the one blind, seeing as she hasn't gotten a big part in this story yet, but no, not this time.**

**I got forty reviews for last chapter! Thank you ;D**

**The reviewers: Immortalis Cruor Elf, The Liar Of Truth, ThePurpleSuperCow, nightliliesu, CATSthewriter, virginger, MadnessLover, Ichigo Mirai, Avasaya, ladyyuuki16, StarKiss666, SasuHina4evr, Furionknight, HypnoticFlames, Kyuubi No Tenshi, WinxPossible, furuba-suzume, ShikaXLover, Masked Bard of Chaos, DANGEROUS-NINJA, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Ice Vixen X, 2amBer, SiriusBalisticPretzels, EveJHoang, Lacrimis Ignis, Kursedfire, DreamingOfSerenity, Spider's Thread, .x, Oderin-Kuro, Little Miss Malfoy, Clearly Emily, Mon Esprit Libre, wunsleh, Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, TemaxShika forever, verohey5, lost my name on the road of life and Flower in the River **

**Chapter Twenty Three: Running Blindly**

* * *

><p>Hinata watched as Gaara and Shikamaru hurried forward to stop Naruto from slamming face-first onto the ground. Sakura darted forwards, and then the kunoichi said, "He's fainted from blood loss. We're going to have to take him to the Hospital Wing so we can treat him better."<p>

"Sakura!" Ino called out. Hinata turned around and see Neji grasping Tenten's arm unsteadily, "Sakura!"

"What?" Sakura snapped, "Naruto needs medical attention."

"Sakura," Neji whispered. Hinata immediately went over to his side. The tone of his voice worried her greatly. She noticed that Neji's eyes were unfocused, and that he was staring around wildly as though he was blind. "Sakura... I can't see."

"What?" Sakura immediately dropped her irritated manner and went over to him. "Ino, take Naruto up to the Hospital Wing and take care of him."

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata said. Neji turned his head to the direction of her voice.

"Where – where are you?" Neji said. He was trembling, and though he tried to hide it, he was afraid.

"Oh god," Sakura said, her brow furrowing, "okay, Tenten, Hinata, could you please guide him up to the Hospital Wing?"

"This could be a result from the spell that hit Neji in the eyes," Kiba said. Sakura rounded to him. The dog nin was holding his shoulder, pressing a gauze to the wound that the shuriken earlier on had left.

"Continue," Sakura commanded. Her tone left no argument.

"In the battle, I saw a white spell hit Neji in the area around his eyes. I think it affected him through the eye-holes in the mask," Kiba said. Sakura ran a hand through her hair; here was one more thing to worry about.

"I'll ask Dumbledore-san and Pomfrey-san," she said.

* * *

><p>Tenten grimaced as she felt the grazes and cuts she received from flying shuriken and things similar to that. Once, a silly Sound ninja almost killed her after getting enraged and attempting to whack Tenten in the head with her biwa (1).<p>

"Are you alright, Tenten?" Hinata asked quietly. Tenten looked around to the Hyuuga girl. They were both sitting on chairs next to Neji's bed; they were in the Hospital Wing.

"I'm fine, thanks," Tenten smiled, "just a few scratches and stuff. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hinata said. "I can see that a lot of the students are awake in their dorms."

Tenten laughed. "Let them be. Soon, they'll fall all sleepy, and they'll go back to bed like the good little children they are." She paused. "How's Naruto's chakra flow?"

"Um," Hinata mumbled, activating her Byakugan, "it's alright." She sighed and massaged her biceps. They were hurting. Hinata turned back to the weapons mistress, who was staring at Neji.

"Hinata!" Sakura called. Hinata jumped up, "Could you come here for a second?"

When Hinata disappeared, Tenten turned her attention back at the young man in the bed.

"Tenten," Neji said quietly. Tenten perked up at the sound of his deep, baritone voice. Neji had been silent the whole time Hinata was there.

"Yeah?"

"I..." Neji trailed off. Tenten put her hand on his, and he seemed to relax slightly. "Tenten... I'm... what if... what if my vision doesn't return to normal?"

If not for the seriousness of the situation, Tenten would have laughed again. This was the closest Neji could to get to admitting that he was afraid.

"All my abilities... they all depend on my eyesight, my Byakugan," Neji said, staring unseeingly out the window.

"You eyesight will come back," Tenten said softly. "And if it doesn't, you won't have to worry, because... I'll be your eyes."

* * *

><p>"Food!" Naruto crowed. The bearer of the food, Sakura, rolled her eyes and came towards him. It was about three o'clock in the morning, four hours after the battle had taken place.<p>

Naruto was currently bedridden, along with Shikamaru, who had fractured a rib after getting slammed into a tree. Sakura had not been happy about that either.

"Why on earth didn't you go to me or Ino the moment that happened?" Sakura had snarled, poking Shikamaru and trying to find out which rib was fractured. "And if you didn't have time, why didn't you go to one of us _straight_ after the battle? Or as _soon_ as we got to the Hospital Wing?"

Shikamaru had shrugged, and muttered, "Troublesome woman," under his breath. Sakura had given him a withering glare, before her hands glowed green and she healed his rib.

"Alright, it's healed, but you better not do anything stupid that would re-break it," Sakura threatened. "Wait for a few days; it's still weak."

Back to the present moment…

"Naruto-kun, eat with your mouth closed," Hinata said frowning, after Sakura had placed down the tray.

"Sakura, you should get some sleep," Tenten said, noticing the dark shadows under the pinkette's eyes. "You and Ino have been up all night healing everyone. It's time that you two took a break."

"Sure?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, we're all fine. And don't worry, we'll take care of the others," Tenten smiled. Sakura's face relaxed into a grin.

"Thanks, Tenten," she said. She went off to the Ravenclaw common room, calling Ino with her as she went. Kiba ambled over to the Hyuuga girl.

"Care to do some guard duty with me?" Kiba asked Hinata, who nodded.

"Stay in bed, Naruto-kun," Hinata said to the blonde. Naruto make a face.

"It's not like I can go anywhere," Naruto grumbled. Hinata then looked over at Neji, and gave her cousin one last, long glance before following Kiba.

* * *

><p>"Did you see what happened last night, Hermione?" Ron asked excitedly at breakfast once he spotted his friend coming over.<p>

"Of course I did," Hermione said. "Who could have slept after some idiot screamed out like that?"

"We saw the guards come back into the castle," Harry said. "Uzumaki collapsed. I think they had some serious injuries."

"Of course they had injuries," Hermione said, "It was a fight, wasn't it?"

She poured herself some coffee. "But I wonder how they did it. How they fought, I mean."

"What do you think?" Harry said. "They're ninja, so they'll fight using the jutsu and stuff they told us about."

"Here come Hyuuga and Tenten," Ron said. Harry and Hermione both looked around. As soon as the two kunoichi entered the Great Hall, everyone grew silent.

"Do you think everyone knows what happened last night?" Hermione said out of the corner of her mouth.

"No idea, the Slytherins shouldn't have. I don't know about the other houses, but Slytherin's common room doesn't face the Forbidden Forest," Harry said, jabbing at his bacon.

The two ninja sat down at the Gryffindor table, seemingly not noticing the sudden silence that shrouded the Hall. Tenten had a bandage around her left upper arm – the white cloth was stained with dark red – and a faint shadow of a bruise covered the left side of Hinata's face. The two of them ate quickly, and then stood up.

"There are still the self defence classes on today," Tenten announced to the quiet students; her voice was wavering. "Be down at the lake in half an hour."

The two of them promptly disappeared with a _poof_, and slowly, the noise level grew up again.

"I heard that Hyuuga is blind," Ron said. "The male one," he added. Hermione frowned, pausing in the process of opening her newspaper.

"Who told you that?" Hermione asked. Ron shrugged.

"Rumours," Ron said.

"Do you think it's true, though?" Harry said. He spotted his own face staring out from the front of page of Hermione's newspaper, but he ignored it. It was probably just some more gossip about him, something that he did not wish to see.

"Hyuuga is not blind," Hermione scoffed. "But… judging from what I saw yesterday, he's _become_ blind," she said, dropping her voice.

"What happened?" Harry asked. "Me and Ron couldn't see anything."

"Ron and I," Hermione corrected under her breath. "Anyway, I saw that Hyuuga looked as though his head was hurting; he was holding it really tightly and everything, and then he stumbled a little bit, and… that's all I saw," Hermione finished. "But it looked as though his vision was gone or something; he was holding onto Tenten's arm really firmly. Of course, it doesn't tell us anything, but still…"

* * *

><p>Kiba yawned widely, showing sharp, pointed teeth. Ino rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat in the Hufflepuff table. They had joined the students for breakfast a few minutes after Tenten and Hinata had left.<p>

"Ugh, my muscles hurt," Kiba grumbled, stretching his arms. "That's really weird; I shouldn't be this tired."

"What are you doing here?" Ino asked, ignoring his comment. "Shouldn't you be guarding with Hinata?"

"Finished," Kiba said simply, rubbing his eyes, which were decorated with dark shadows underneath. Akamaru had stalked off to terrorise a certain Mrs Norris; they could hear his delighted yelps throughout the castle, and the cat's indignant yowls, though it was barely audible with the chatter of students.

"So you're visiting me?" Ino said slyly. "How sweet."

Kiba smirked. "Aren't you supposed to be with our injured comrades?"

"Sleeping," Ino said, then her voice took on a note of concern. "And besides, how's your shoulder?"

"Eh?" Kiba glanced at his wound, his other arm still pressed to his shoulder blade. The gauze was blotched with red.

"Here, let me," Ino murmured. She got up from her seat, ignoring the curious glances of the kids; the noise level rose. She carefully peeled the gauze back, Kiba biting back a sharp wince. Ino drew in a breath, and the mutterings increased. "Looks pretty bad. Dammit, we should've healed it when we first got back."

She bit her lip, anxiety clouding her face.

"Come on," Ino said, nudging him. The two ninja got up – Kiba stumbling from exhaustion – and went out to the Hall. Many of the students were inside, eating, so Kiba simply plopped himself on the staircase, not wanting to move any further. Ino didn't comment, and merely started to inspect his wound.

"It's deep," said Ino. She chewed the inside of her cheek.

"Don't worry about it, Ino," Kiba assured her. He took off his armour and his black shirt underneath, exposing his chest and abdomen – worthy pieces of eye candy, even if they were scarred – and if Ino hadn't been so worried about the injury, she would have blushed. It was a testament to Ino's growth that she now focused on more important things than racing after boys. It was because of this that she had earned Kiba's respect for her as a kunoichi and a woman. Ino moved back behind him and her hand lit up in the usual green glow of a medic nin. Her eyebrows contracted as she assessed the damage.

"No, honestly, this injury shouldn't be overlooked," Ino said. "If not healed quickly, if could leave long-term –"

"Ino, seriously," said Kiba; he was almost slumping over from tiredness, "just leave it. I'm fine."

Ino glared at him. "Hey, I'm –"

"You're really not helping my headache," Kiba cut across. Ino closed her mouth with an audible snap, her green eyes glinting like ice.

"You ungrateful mutt," she muttered under her breath.

"Hey," Kiba complained. "Don't talk about dogs like –"

"What? Here I am, worried about you, and all you can think about is _dogs_?" Ino snapped.

"No – yes – argh!" Kiba groaned, pulling at his hair. Tiredness really messed with his brain.

"Yes?" Ino said in a dangerous voice.

"No!" Kiba protested. "I mean – I'm not talking about dogs –"

"Oh yes you were," Ino countered.

"The point is, just don't talk about them –"

"See?"

Slowly, their voices rose, and the argument warped and turned in all directions.

"WELL THEN, IF I'M ON NOT EVEN ON PAR WITH A _DOG_, AND YOU CONSIDER ME NOT EVEN WORTHY ENOUGH TO WATCH YOUR BACK IN BATTLE, THEN DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME FOR THE REST OF THE MISSION!" Ino shrieked as her finishing statement, and before Kiba could say another word, Ino had _poofed _away. He was left with his very confused thoughts and a deafening, very embarrassing silence from the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>"Looks like Inuzuka got his butt chewed out," Ron snickered.<p>

"Ron!" Hermione reprimanded. Slowly, every else started chatting again. Many of the boys were laughing at Kiba's unfortunate luck – everyone heard the fight – while the girls had more diverse reactions, ranging from "Ino was going a bit overboard" to "Oh, poor guy" to "Yamanaka's right" to "Does that mean he's single?"

"So… what was that about?" Harry asked his two female friends. Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, gave a "che".

"Well, Inuzuka offended Yamanaka," said Hermione.

"Well _duh_," Ron said. Hermione shot him a dirty look. Harry stared at Hermione expectantly.

"What?" Hermione asked self consciously.

"Well, you're a girl, right?" Harry said. Ginny gave him a 'you-just-figured-it-out?' kind of look. "What was Yamanaka thinking?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Hermione said in exasperation.

"Well, girls are nuts," Ron said, "So this fight probably wasn't even Inuzuka's fault. Girls always find a way to twist everything to blame it on their –"

Hermione and Ginny both left the table, identical looks of fury on their faces – both not before Ginny accidently-on-purpose kicked Ron in the shins.

* * *

><p>"Today, you're going to learn about our weapons," Tenten said. The remainder of the self defence classes were gathered in a small circle at the edge of the lake.<p>

"We know we should have taught you this sooner, but we didn't think it was necessary," Hinata said. "It is good that you have learnt some physical self defence, but you are all at a level where, if you try one of those moves, the enemy will just probably stand there and laugh at you."

"Or they'll just be frozen in shock at how bad you are," Tenten mumbled in an undertone. Hinata shushed her with a wave of her hand.

"Anyway, we've said this before, but we're going to say it again: you have grown to rely on your wands too much, so much that it's really no use changing that fact. It's become a routine. The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken (2)," Hinata said. "So now we're simply going to teach you how to defend against a shinobi with your wand. But first, you're going to learn the names of our weapons."

"Alright, does anyone know what this is called?" Tenten asked, holding up a kunai.

"A knife?" Ginny Weasley said.

"A dagger?"

"A blade?"

"A sharp pointy thing?"

Tenten sighed deeply.

"I believe it is called a kunai," Hermione said. She listened well and observed her surroundings, and had evidently heard the ninja call them kunai.

"Thank you, Granger-san," Tenten said.

"I suppose that the English translation of a kunai _is_ a knife or dagger, but we don't like it to be called that," Hinata said. "Alright, and what is this called?"

She held up a shuriken.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… A ninja throwing star?"

"In English, yes, but we prefer you to call them shuriken," Tenten said. She stretched out her arms; they were aching.

"These two are the primary weapons that a ninja will use. They are sharp, easy to grab and most of all, are excellent for distractions, especially the shuriken," Hinata said, "but it requires lots of training to get your precision just right. Often, we will have to kill moving targets, so you must know where to hit, get enough precision to hit that spot and also, you must have enough force for the blade to stab through. Like I said before, the shuriken is a distraction object. If you want to kill someone with it, you have to target the right spot, or you need to send many shuriken over to the victim.

"The kunai can also kill people. It can be thrown, but is mainly used for stabbing and thrusting."

"Another thing that a ninja will use is this." Tenten fished out from her pouch a slip of paper with markings all over it. "This is called an exploding tag. Ninja like to attach these to kunai, throw the kunai, and then release the bomb. It's quite useful. You can also stick them to any surface, and are durable even through heavy rain."

"Excuse me," Hermione said, her hand flying into the air. Tenten nodded at her, signalling for her to continue.

"Yes?"

"How do you release it?" Hermione asked.

"Well, if you want to release if remotely, you make sure you're a safe distance away, use the 'Snake' hand seal and it'll explode," Tenten said, demonstrating the seal with her hands.

"How big is the bomb?" Harry asked.

"Well, it depends on how much chakra is infused into it," Hinata said. "The more chakra you have in it, the bigger the explosion."

Hermione nodded her understanding.

"Some ninja also like to carry ninja wire," Tenten said, showing them the coil of wire. "It's very strong, and can be used for multiple purposes."

"Alright, like we said before, enemy ninja will see you as civilians and will probably not waste any chakra on you guys," Tenten said. "They'll just use kunai and shuriken to kill you. I believe Ino and Kiba have taught you how to use your Shield charm to deflect kunai and shuriken, correct?"

There was a murmur of "yes"s.

"You can't only rely on your Shield charm," Tenten said, "and so, today, we're going to teach you guys some old-fashioned dodging!"

"As in, you throw the kunai and we dodge…?" Dean Thomas asked uncertainly.

"Spot on."

Hinata's lips twitched into a smile. "You can use your wand, and you have to try and take one of us down. You have half a minute to get away."

"Get away from what?"

"You mean _run_?"

"Are we playing some dangerous game of tag?"

"Are you trying to kill us?"

"… Twenty five… twenty four…."

"Oh my god, RUN!"

"… Twenty two…. twenty one…. twenty…"

"Spread out wherever you want," Tenten called. "Don't worry, we'll find you, so don't be concerned about getting lost."

That somehow terrified the kids even more.

"… Fifteen… fourteen… thirteen…"

Hinata readied her kunai, and Tenten did the same with her shuriken.

"… Ten… nine… eight… seven…"

The students had now scattered, running as far away from the guards as they could.

"… Six… five… four…"

Hinata decided to go for Ron first.

"… Three… two… one… ready or not, here we come!"

Hinata quickly raced after Ron, who saw her coming, swore, and took off. She threw a kunai, and Ron shouted out, "_Protego_!"

The kunai was deflected, which greatly impressed Hinata, and, to reward Ron on his quick reflexes, threw another kunai. This one barely missed him. It landed a hair's breath away from his foot, and yet Ron knew that the girl had missed on purpose. That thought spurred him on, and he quickened his already quick pace.

Tenten was chasing Cho Chang, who had raced off near the water's edge, and the be-bunned girl giggled almost manically as she ran. She threw a kunai, and it spun dangerously close to Cho. Fortunately, Cho saw it coming out of the corner of her eye and she dodged, ducking her black-haired head down, stumbling for a second and then promptly started running again, almost falling into the lake as she did so.

Cho glanced behind her and saw the running kunoichi. She steadied her wand over her shoulder and shouted out the Jelly-Legs Jinx. Tenten' eyes widened when she saw the spell coming, but she recovered from her surprise quickly and dodged it.

"Good job, Chang-san!" Tenten called. "Use more offense."

Dean Thomas readied himself to run at any moment. He watched as Ron and Cho were chased by the two ninja, and made sure that none of them came near him. Funnily enough, Hinata suddenly changed direction and started running full pelt towards Dean. Cursing his luck, Dean turned heel and ran off.

He had seen what Cho had done, and decided to copy her. Aiming his wand behind him, he tried to use the Trip Jinx on Hinata. It didn't work. Dean ran haphazardly around, and he almost got a kunai embedded in his back. He had managed to dodge it, but it skimmed his shoulder.

"Come on, Thomas-san! I know you can use more spells on me!" Hinata called out. Dean gritted his teeth and fired a Freezing Charm. When he sneaked a glance back, he saw that Hinata was still chasing him, but he had almost hit her.

Tenten had decided to let Cho rest, and now she was running after Jason Fleance (3). The little first year boy stood his ground as the kunoichi neared him, and then he shouted out the Stinging Hex. Tenten ducked her head just in time as the spell sailed over her head. Jason, seeing that it didn't work, started running.

"That was really good, Fleance-san!" Tenten said. "Next time, try not to miss!"

She chucked a shuriken, and it hit Jason squarely on the arm. The boy cried out and stumbled, hitting the ground.

"Hey, you okay?" Tenten asked, slowing down. She bent over him, and then Jason rolled over and pointed his wand in her face.

"Bam," he said. Tenten stared at him, and then started laughing.

"Good, very good," Tenten chuckled. "I let my guard down, and you took that to your advantage. Very good, Fleance-san, I am very impressed."

Jason struggled to his feet, biting his teeth.

"You better go off to the Hospital Wing," Tenten said. "Hopefully, Sakura might even be there."

Happiness lit up Jason's face; he liked Sakura, and with a hurried, "Thank you," he was rushing towards the castle. Tenten stared after him for a second, and then, by instinct, she ducked to the ground. A spell soared over her head. She turned back to see Neville Longbottom with his wand out, directly behind her. His face grew white when he saw her facial expression:

She was smiling. And it was creepy.

"You better run, Longbottom-san," Tenten sang. Neville took her advice and sped off. Surprisingly, he was rather fast.

"That was a good little stunt you pulled back there," Tenten shouted after him. "It was very good. Next time, try to be more silent." She ran, throwing a shuriken, and Neville cast a Shield Charm. She threw a kunai, and it struck his side, drawing blood. He faltered for a second, and then he kept on running.

It was Harry's turn to burn off his excess energy. He saw the Hyuuga girl coming towards him, and, without thinking, cast a "_Reducto_!"

Hinata managed to avoid it, but as she looked back and saw a small crater where she should have been, she decided to stay away from that spell.

"Move, Potter-san, move," Hinata said. She managed to stay heard even though she hadn't raised her voice yet. She threw a kunai at him, and he ducked down low to evade it. Blindly, Harry cast spell after spell behind him, and time and time again, he heard Hinata spouting out tips, critics and compliments.

It seemed that only Hermione managed to make a mark on the ninja, Jason excluded. When she saw Tenten advancing towards her, she immediately fired off a series of charm, hexes, spells, curses and jinxes left, right and centre. Tenten didn't manage to dodge a Burning Spell, and it resulted in a scalded, red right hand when Tenten threw it up to cover her face.

"Very good job, Granger-san," Tenten said. "You did well."

Hermione, bent over and panting, only managed to nod her head in thanks of the compliment.

Two sixth and seventh year boys were sent up to the Hospital Wing because they looked too much like pincushions for them to continue the self defence lesson. Translation: Tenten became overenthusiastic and took out her weapons scroll.

The end of the day found the self defence members sprawled out on the lawn, semi-conscious and half-dead. The two kunoichi stood over them, grinning happily and commentating on what a great warm-up it was.

"Warm up?" Ron said wearily. "How in the name of hell was that a warm up?"

"Well, if you have a teammate and a jounin instructor like Lee and Gai-sensei…" Tenten said, trailing off, and then she said abruptly, "You guys didn't make me use half my energy."

"Although it was funny to watch you all running around and screaming," Hinata said quietly. The SD members stared at her, wondering how this shy, sweet girl managed to obtain such a sadistic personality.

"Anyway, now you guys can all go back to the castle, eat, rest, and then do whatever you people do," Tenten said. "_Ja ne_."

When the students had staggered off, the grin slid off Tenten's face, and it was replaced by one of worry.

"Let's go to the Hospital Wing," Hinata said. The two of them body-flickered up there, both of their forehead creased and their lips pulled into a tight line.

* * *

><p>"Neji," Tenten said.<p>

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata said. Sakura glanced up from inspecting Neji's eyes, pressing a hand to her lower back as her spine ached from bending too much.

"Hi guys," Sakura said tiredly. "How was the self defence class?"

"Fine," Tenten replied. "The kids did pretty well."

"How is Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asked. Sakura sighed, and then glanced over at the Hyuuga boy.

"I still can't see," Neji said. He was bare-chested, with paper tags stuck onto his body everywhere, on which squiggly black writing was on.

"I've been trying different jutsu to get a response out of his eyes," Sakura explained, catching the glance Tenten threw on the tags. "Nothing has worked."

Neji's hair was out of its low ponytail. The bandages were still wrapped around his forehead, concealing his manji mark. His hands rested on the bed beside his body. His face was still proud, though the slump in his shoulders showed that he, somehow, seemed defeated.

Tenten grabbed hold of his left hand. It was callused, and she felt a scar running along the palm. She had given it to him during one of their training sessions. It was the first and only time she had made a mark on him. Neji turned his head to stare unseeingly at Tenten, his eyes searching for her face almost frantically.

Hinata moved to stand beside her, and her head was bowed, her dark blue bangs hiding her face. Neji seemed to sense her as well, and he reached out with his other hand to hesitantly grab the air. Tenten, seeing this, nudged Hinata, and the Hyuuga girl quickly held her hand towards his. Neji grasped it.

Tenten knew that Neji was afraid. His stiff posture, the hard line of his lips, the way he held his head, Tenten understood them all. She had been his teammate for years now. His eyes, so full of dignity and quiet pride, were now shadowed and overwhelmed by the panicked fact that he would not see ever again. His jutsu needed his eyes, and if he couldn't see, then what kind of ninja would he be?

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Biwa – A traditional Japanese instrument with a pear-shaped body. Similar to the Chinese pipa. <strong>

**(2) Quote by Samuel Johnson.**

**(3) Don't know if you remember him, but he's the student that I made up who was captured along with Slug/Sakura in Chapters Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen.**

**Eh… is it really okay for kids to be running around with sticks in their hands?**

**Jason doesn't remember Sakura, no (he got his memory erased, remember?), but he feels a strange connection to her and she's nice to him, so he likes her.**

**Yes, there was a reason for Ino and Kiba's fight. See if you can work it out ;D It's really quite simple.**

**And also, the little piece of foreshadowing that has been popping up in every chapter since Chapter Eighteen? Has anyone figured it out? It was really clear – at least, clearer than usual – in this chapter. Or maybe it's too hard… should I give you guys a clue? Would you guys _like _a clue?**


	24. Thank You

**Ino and Kiba's fight last chapter was meant to be pretty even, but for some strange reason, Ino just kinda went ballistic on our poor dog-nin. **

**Okay. Um, the clue. I don't know what to tell you guys without it being too obvious. Let's see… okay, a few words:**

**Ache; pain; sting; hurt; sore; tired; muscles**

**Look for them ;D Alright, fine, they're REALLY obvious now...**

**Thanks to the reviewers: aggy's mangopulp, Flower in the River, Masked Bard of Chaos, ThePurpleSuperCow, Ichigo Mirai, Immortalis Cruor Elf, MadDogMatt13, DreamingOfSerenity, tenshi-no-akuma-81, ladyyuuki16, MadnessLover, StarKiss666, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, Cherrie-san, 2amBer, Spider's Thread, GoldenMoon1997, furuba-suzume, hello-totoro-ninja, TheMysteriousAuthoress0925, Kyuubi No Tenshi, Mon Esprit Libre, Furionknight, CATSthewriter, xXSolaine-GirlXx, CalcBoy91, Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, Hyperwolfpup, 2stupid, Lacrimis Ignis, Miko Potter, Palace of Venus, verohey5, narugirl369 and thruth is **

**I feel like I've gotten more reviews than usual. Thank you so much, guys ;D**

**Chapter Twenty Four: Thank You**

* * *

><p>"I believe this is a blinding spell," Dumbledore said after peering into Neji's eyes. "Obviously, it blinds people."<p>

"Is there anything to change his eyesight back to normal?" Sakura asked. Dumbledore sighed.

"There is," he said, "but Mr Hyuuga's body has not reacted well to that spell." He gestured towards the slight red swelling that was currently occurring around Neji's eyes.

"So, there's no cure?" Sakura asked. Dumbledore shook his head and said, "For Mr Hyuuga, no. I'm sorry."

Naruto and Shikamaru had made a full recovery. It was approximately two days after the battle in the Forbidden Forest; the school was still buzzing about it. The Hospital Wing was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset, but Neji couldn't see it.

Dumbledore was visiting Neji, the only occupant in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey had tried all sorts of potions and spells, but the Hyuuga was still blind.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said softly.

"This is a mission, Dumbledore-san. We take risks like this," Neji said quietly. "But right now, I'm useless here, so please allow me to go home."

Neji had been thinking about it for a while now. He was stuck in eternal darkness, he was inadequate. He was of no use here, in the sometimes dangerous wizarding world. He was better off in Konoha. Even his physical endurance was deteriorating; he was getting tired more easily during battles and spars.

"Wait, what?" Naruto said. He had been standing in silence for a while, but now he narrowed his blue eyes. "You can't go back. This is a wizarding spell that did this to your eyes, and so a wizarding spell should be able to reverse its effects."

"The only spell that can reverse it doesn't work for me," Neji said. "Besides, Hokage-sama might know what to do." He gazed at Naruto's general direction unseeingly.

At that moment, the doors of the Hospital Wing were thrown open, and in marched a figure that was quite familiar to Dumbledore, but not so to the ninja.

It was Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Minster.

Yay.

"Dumbledore," Fudge said. "I've been looking for you."

Fudge seemed to be tense, though he hid it under a huge smile. He wore a pinstriped cloak and his signature bowler hat. He stopped at the sight of the ninja, but then he regained his composure and strode forward to Dumbledore.

"Ah, Minister!" Madam Pomfrey said. She had just come out of her office carrying a bottle of potion. "Good evening."

"And to you," Fudge said. He turned back to the headmaster, who was surprised, but masked it.

"Cornelius, what brings you here?" Dumbledore asked. Fudge gave another shifty glance towards the ninja, all of whom were glaring at him, even Neji. None of them liked this pompous little man even though they had just met him.

"I… heard that one of your guards have been injured in the recent battle at Hogwarts," Fudge said lightly. Dumbledore frowned. How had he known about that?

"We will not discuss this here, Cornelius, please come to my office," Dumbledore said.

* * *

><p>"Would you like a sweet?" Dumbledore asked, seating himself behind his desk and offering the bowl of candy to the Minister. Fudge shook his head irritably, his happy attitude gone.<p>

"Who informed you that the school was attacked?" Dumbledore asked. Fudge shifted slightly in his seat.

"Word spreads, Dumbledore," Fudge said. Dumbledore had a tiny inkling about who it was, but Fudge's next words confirmed them.

"Lucias came to visit me," Fudge said, "and he had some interesting information." Ah, so it was probably Draco Malfoy who told his father, who in turn told Fudge.

"Oh, and what interesting information would that be?" Dumbledore inquired politely.

"I know you have hired ninja to guard the school," Fudge said, "but what I didn't know is that you are letting those people _teach_ the students here."

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "I am well aware that they teach self defence classes. They are quite good at it."

Fudge spluttered. "They're savages, Dumbledore! How do you know they're not teaching those students some kind of barbaric move or something?"

"How do you know they are?" Dumbledore countered easily. Fudge shook his head and sat himself up straighter in his chair.

"Anyway, it seems as though the long-haired boy cannot see anymore. He is better off in his homeland," Fudge said. Inside, he was delighting in the fact that he got to get rid of a ninja; the less the better.

"I think not," Dumbledore said evenly. "Mr Hyuuga will stay here."

"I – but – he is obviously incompetent!" Fudge blurted out. "He has no reason to be here."

"Cornelius, please leave," Dumbledore said, shortly. "I must get back to Mr Hyuuga. Unless you have an _actual _reason for coming here."

"I… oh, very well, but I will be watching them," Fudge said. "Mark my words. They will regret coming to trifle with the wizarding world."

"Is that a threat, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Fudge said nothing, but he simply picked up his bowler hat, severely displeased and rose from his chair.

"Good evening to you, Dumbledore."

* * *

><p>"Come to think of it," Sakura murmured, slowly taking the tags off Neji's body, "what's up with Kiba and Ino?"<p>

Tenten grimaced, rubbing her sore neck. "Um… they got into a fight yesterday."

Naruto sniggered. "It was pretty funny. You could hear the whole thing." He rubbed his head gingerly. "But for some reason, Ino took her anger out on me."

"Maybe because you were making fun of her," Hinata said quietly. She had sneaked in a few minutes previously to visit Neji. "I _did _warn you."

"How was I supposed to know she was PMS-ing," Naruto grumbled. A few seconds later, he was sporting a new dent in his head, courtesy of Sakura. The said kunoichi had her fist raised.

"Naruto," she growled threateningly.

"She wasn't PMS-ing," Tenten sweat dropped, trying to prevent the pinkette from committing murder. "Ino just gets angry easily. She has a short-fuse."

"Well, Kiba-kun is like that too," Hinata said. "It's a wonder they haven't killed each other yet." She flexed her biceps, idly noting the ache when she did. She had been feeling tired recently.

"Get some sleep, Hinata," said Sakura, picking up on her teammates discomfort. "Your body is wearing itself out."

Hinata flashed her a faint smile.

"Well, when you're all done discussing our teammates' love lives," Neji said, "I would really like to get out of this hospital."

"Ah, right, sorry, Neji," Sakura said. She finished off, collecting the tags, and Tenten helped Neji into his clothes. He had decided to leave after Madam Pomfrey had told him that she did not have anything else that would reverse the blindness, and though his face betrayed no emotion, everyone could tell that Neji was crushed.

Neji swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and both Tenten and Hinata eased him off.

"Be careful," Sakura said. Naruto had dropped his grin, and he glanced at Neji one last time before disappearing. Hinata opened her mouth, then closed it, and decided to leave her cousin to Tenten. While she helped Sakura pack everything up, the two members of Team Gai shuffled out.

"Come on, Gaara will look after you," Tenten murmured. Neji, who was clutching her arm so hard that it had become numb (and he was only holding her with one hand), merely nodded his head and continued to walk.

"You sure you don't want me to stay with you?" Tenten asked.

"No, I'll be fine," Neji said. Tenten rolled her eyes, knowing that he just didn't want to burden her. "Where are we?"

"We're coming up to the Great Hall," Tenten said.

"Can we go eat?" Neji asked. Tenten hesitated for a split second, but then said, "Sure."

As they walked towards the oak double doors, a small first year boy ran past the pair of them and stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong with you?" the boy asked rudely, staring at Neji. Tenten stiffened. Neji stared in the direction that he thought the boy was in.

"None of your business," Neji said, a little coldly. The boy stuck his tongue out at him.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" the boy sang. "I know what they're all saying about you!"

"You little –" Tenten started to growl, but the boy danced out of her reach.

"They're saying your blind!" the boy said, "Blind as a tiger!"

"Tigers aren't even blind, you idiot," Tenten muttered venomously.

Neji merely stared impassively at the boy's general location. "Is that so?"

"Yup," the boy said. "Blind, blind, blind, they all say you're blind! You're such a freak now! You can't see anymore, so you can't hurt meeee!"

The boy seemed to forget about the presence of a very angry kunoichi who wasn't going to hesitate to turn him into a pincushion in a few seconds if he didn't shut up.

"Freak! Freak! You're a freak!" the boy yelled, and then scampered off (1).

* * *

><p><em>Stick and stone may break my bones, but words can also hurt me.<em>

_Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me._

_Slant and curved the word-swords fall, it pierces and sticks inside me._

_Bats and bricks may ache through bones, but words can mortify me._

_Pain from words has left its scar, on mind and heart that's tender._

_Cuts and bruises now have healed, its words that I remember._

_By Ruby Redfort_

Oh yes. Words hurt. Words can hurt a lot. But there was something else that is also painful.

Laughter.

Taunting, cruel laughter.

Laughter can hurt. Laughter can hurt real badly.

Just like words.

* * *

><p>Harry, Ron and Hermione were eating in the Great Hall, when two ninja entered. Again, like it did with Hinata and Tenten, the Great Hall descended into silence as they watched Neji and the bun-haired girl slowly walk into the Hall. Neither shinobi looked at anyone in the face, though one of them couldn't see anyway. Neji was walking unsteadily, one foot after another, his unseeing eyes looking down to the ground. It was clear that he was blind. He was clutching Tenten's hand tightly, and she gently guided him towards the Gryffindor table.<p>

Harry looked towards the staff table, and to his utter disgust, he saw that Umbridge was smirking at Neji; a horrid little smile that urged Harry to sprint up to her seat and smash her face into her bowl. Dumbledore watched the little scene calmly, and then looked down and continued eating as though nothing was wrong, but the other teachers simply stared.

"So it's true," Hermione whispered. "Hyuuga really is blind."

Once seated, Tenten quietly murmured to Neji what was on the table to eat, and he chose what he wanted. She put the plate in front of him. It was steak.

Harry wished that the noise level would increase again; it would be better for Neji if everyone didn't stare at him, but the Hall remained deathly silent.

Tenten put a fork in Neji's hand.

"Do you want me to cut it up for you?" she asked softly, her voice carrying through the Hall. After a stiff second, Neji lowered his pride and nodded his head. Once that was finished, Tenten moved his hand over the plate and Neji poked the pieces with his fork, trying to remember where they all were.

It was still silent.

Neji speared a piece and raised it to his mouth. He managed to get it in, and he chewed, his bangs covering his face. Tenten ate beside him, her eyes never leaving her food.

It was still silent.

Neji was moving his fork around his plate, knowing that there was one last piece. He couldn't find it. He kept on stabbing nothing, and a frown marred his face. Just as Tenten was about to help him, the silence broke.

Someone snickered.

Tenten froze.

Neji cocked his ear, and then lay down his fork. He sat there, his hands folded on his lap, his face blank, still with a piece of steak left on his plate. Tenten nudged him, asking if he wanted more. He shook his head. There was a tiny hint of a flush on his cheeks.

Hermione's mouth dropped open; she couldn't believe someone had actually laughed. Surprisingly (not really), it came from the Slytherin table.

Someone else sniggered. Tenten's fury grew. She kept on eating.

Neji felt around for a goblet of water, and Tenten passed it to him. Hesitantly, his fingers closed around the cup and he raised it. He took small sips, managing not to spill any. Then, he put it down and waited for Tenten to finish. Once she did, the pair rose from the table and proceeded to walk out.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed the two ninja as they went along. Neji was still holding Tenten's hand. She was his guide. She was his eyes. They kept on walking, and then Neji bumped into the door.

It wasn't as if he walked straight into it. His shoulder and leg just kind of hit the side of the door. Neji stopped, reaching out a hand, feeling the wood.

Someone snorted. Another one laughed. Soon, most of the Slytherin table had started guffawing, with the exception of a few (i.e. Jason Fleance and Mark Pilate). It was jeering laughter. It was mocking, sneering, scornful.

"That's enough," Dumbledore said sharply, cutting through the laughter. His voice was filled with quiet fury.

Tenten let go out Neji hand and turned around slowly, ominously. Her fists clenched, never mind the soreness that occurred in her muscles when she did. Her face was wiped smooth of emotion, her eyes cold and detached. She didn't look angry; she looked more like she was calm. But that was the scariest part. The laughter had completely stopped by now. The look in her eyes was too frightening. Neji was frowning, his hands reaching out to her.

"Tenten," he murmured. He knew that she was angry. He had to hold her back. The last time she had gotten mad, the entire south side of Konoha had had oddly shaped things sticking out of the buildings. Gradually, ever so gradually, Tenten's fingers crept towards her kunai pouch. "Tenten."

Neji moved towards where he thought she would be. And then he stumbled.

The Slytherin table started laughing again, as if they had suddenly forgotten about the pissed off kunoichi standing in front of them.

Harry could feel his blood boiling as he stared at the amused faces. He couldn't stand it anymore.

"Shut up," he said quietly. Only Ron and Hermione heard him.

"Shut up," he said again, louder this time. It got the attention of the surrounding students.

"SHUT UP!"

Harry was on his feet. He was enraged. He felt a certain déjà vu. It was just like the time he had gotten angry in Umbridge's class. Fury was sprinting through his veins, just as it had the other time. Silence reigned again, though this silence was more pressing. Everyone's attention was focused on the scarred boy sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"You all," he said quietly, "better shut up."

Tenten was looking at him with an odd expression on her face. Neji's face was unreadable as well.

"Thank you, Potter-san," she said softly, though she knew that he couldn't hear her. She turned back to the Slytherin table. "Alright," she said loudly, "I'm going to be acting today. I'm going to be acting as the Grim Reaper. You know what the Grim Reaper does? He kills people. I'm going to choose who's going to die today." She gripped a kunai tightly in her hand, her eyes filled with dangerous hatred. She stepped towards the Slytherins, but then a hand held her back. She looked behind her. Neji had found her at last, and his fingers were wound around her arm.

"Tenten," he said. Tenten gazed at him for a second or two, and then stowed her kunai away. In the seconds that passed as Tenten had gazed at Neji, Harry knew that a thousand words had been exchanged in that one little glance.

"Ahahaha," Tenten laughed, her features relaxing into a strangely amused expression. "I'm sorry; I got a little bit carried away there." The students and teachers looked at her as though she was crazy. "But if you ever," her voice turned lethal, "laugh at Neji like that again, I will personally make sure that you are hunted down and slaughtered."

She slipped her hand back into Neji's and took him out of the Hall, making sure that he didn't bump into the doors again.

Harry knew that Neji's pride had been hurt. It had been stamped out of him by that cruel laughter. It reminded him forcefully of his childhood, where Dudley and his gang had poked him, beat him up, called him names, and laughed at him.

That mocking, cruel laughter.

Neji had acted indifferent, but he had been hurt. Deep down, he had felt the damage that the laughter had made. That was the burden of being different. Once you were different, everyone would laugh at you. Everyone would call you names. Everyone would leave you alone in cold, freezing solitude. To be different… it hurt a lot to be different (2).

Harry stood up abruptly and left the Great Hall, surprised eyes following him. He didn't care. He may have hated the guards at the beginning, but he knew that they were human. He didn't hate them anymore. And it wasn't just Neji's dignity that was wounded, but also his heart.

It would have been painful.

"Hyuuga!" Harry yelled when he saw the long, coffee hair and the two signature buns. Neji and Tenten both paused and turned around.

"Potter-san," Neji said softly. He was looking in the wrong direction to where Harry actually was. Harry slid to a stop in front of them, panting, his hands on his knees. "I –"

"It's okay," Harry said, catching his breath and straightening up, "it's okay, because it doesn't matter, because, blind or not, you're a great ninja. Just because your eyes are gone doesn't mean that you're useless. I know that being a ninja requires more than strength and jutsu. It also requires you to be there when your comrades need you, even when you're not in battle. I know nothing about being a ninja, but you guys have taught me that much." Neji closed his mouth, his unseeing eyes widening in shock. Beside him, Tenten gave the boy a tiny smile.

"Potter-san –" Neji began again, but then Harry cut him off.

"I'll call you Neji, and you'll call me Harry," said the boy quickly, "just Harry. I want you both to call me by my first name. No Mr Potter, Potter or Potter-san. My name is Harry." Neji stared at his general direction with a strange, complex look on his face. Tenten smiled genuinely at the boy.

"Harry," Neji said softly, "thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Yes, I know that the boy was unusually cruel, but I just want to say that he is used to playing the bully in the playground. Plus, he thinks that because Neji is blind he's useless so he can't do anything against him. Yeah, he forgot about Tenten though…<strong>

**(2) Teehee, another little thingy about why this fic is called 'To Be Different'. I believe the last one was in Chapter Thirteen. Sheesh, that's a while ago.**

**The speech Harry makes to Neji is really corny, but I like it ;D**

**Dammit, I felt so sorry for Neji in this chapter. I was cringing as I wrote it D:**

**Mm. The Slytherins were very mean in this chapter as well. This is partly because most of them ARE mean, but I exaggerated it, reason being that I needed to close the gap between Harry and the ninja. Heh, funnily enough, I started with Neji and Tenten. Plus… I don't really like the Slytherins anyhow. I know I'm just generalising, but yeah, there you go. **

**George and Fred Weasley are also capable of being very cruel, like when they pushed the Slytherin Quidditch Captain (I forgot his name) into a Vanishing Cabinet and didn't seem to care whether he survived or not. If there are people like that in Gryffindor (not that they're evil or anything… or maybe they are), then what about Slytherin, the most unpleasant of houses?**

**And I totally forgot about Fudge. I was skimming over my past chapters to see if there's anything I forgot to address, and I realised that I put old Mr Chocolate Bar – uh, I mean Fudge, in a few times, and he's disappeared ever since. The encounter with Fudge in this chapter was really awkwardly written as well; my apologies. The same thing happened with the animal summons; I also forgot that Neji, Shikamaru (mentioned in passing), Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and probably the others could use summons. I really should re-introduce them. Whoops. I also found many typos, so I'm going to go back and fix them up. Typos really annoy me, and my story's filled with them.**

**So? So? Did anyone pick up on the little hints of foreshadowing? It was really quite obvious, though, now that I've given you the clue(s) and I put more in than usual in this chappie. Honestly, if one of you guys can even guess what that will lead to I'll reward that person with a one-shot. Because I've been doing this every chapter; I _need _someone to notice, or I won't get that 'Ahh!' and light bulb-moment reaction with I finally reveal everything. Admittedly, it's a long way off, but still.**

**Oh, just a little P.S here. If you support NejiTen, I recommend the fic 'Dulce Et Decorum'… because it is an excellent story.**


	25. The Truth

**A lot of your guesses for the foreshadowing was very, very close. Keep trying ^^**

*****IMPORTANT NOTICE*****

**So, guys. I've been receiving nags to update this story, and I don't mind, really. But there's a reason for the late update. As some of you know, I've had exams and assignments thrown at me all term, and it's really made me think about my priorities. I've come to realise that I can't juggle writing and schoolwork at the same time, and so I'm going to make a decision that some of you might not like.**

**_To Be Different _will go on hiatus for six months.**

**I know this might be a little shocking and a little much, but I'm really sorry. I want to get good marks this time, and so I have to concentrate solely on school work.**

**Thank you to the reviewers: ****Mon Esprit Libre****, ****Misa1120****, ****Sasu-Cakes137****, ****ladyyuuki16****, ****MadDogMatt13****, ****2amBer****, ****virginger****, ****Jredthegreat****, ****CATSthewriter****, ****xLoveChuuChuuTrainx****, ****GoldenMoon1997****, ****xXSolaine-GirlXx****, ****WinxPossible****, ****Kyuubi No Tenshi****, ****furuba-suzume****, ****Flower in the River****, ****Nadalada****, ****CalcBoy91****, ****Scarlett Winds****, person, ****Ranger Mitsuki****, ****DreamingOfSerenity****, ****ThePurpleSuperCow****, ****Sleepyreader319****, ShikaXLover, ****Ichigo Mirai****, ****The Awesome God Apollo****, ice vixen x not signed in, ****TheMysteriousAuthoress0925****, ****StarKiss666****, ****Miko Potter****, ****BewareTheIdesOfMarch****, ****, Amerik5589, ****Elivira****, hello-totoro-ninja, ****RedEYES-Fallen****, ****Wolf of Summer****, ****Kagayaku Hoshi-chan****, ****Soaha****, ****Fubuki Arashi****, Chianina, ****Shadow the Ranger****, ****Metoochocolate**** and ****pinksonic2**

**Wow... forty five reviews... That's the most I've gotten at one time. Thank you so much.**

**This chapter is dedicated to _furuba-suzume_, who was the only one who went back throughout my previous chapters and found all the hints of foreshadowing and just totally made my day. I'm sorry this is so late... and I'm sorry for using this chapter as a bearer of bad news.**

**Chapter Twenty Five: The Truth**

* * *

><p>Neji hated it. He hated the pity that everyone seemed to feel whenever they talked to him. Even the students in the corridor, when he was walking past, shot him looks that told him they were sorry. He could <em>feel<em> them. It was annoying. It pissed him off. He was a proud person; he would not allow anyone to look at him like that ever again.

He could not stand the pity that came with having eyes that could not see.

He hated it.

* * *

><p>All of the students could feel the obvious tension radiating off Kiba and Ino during dinner a few nights after their fight. Ino sat at her Hufflepuff table, while Kiba joined Gryffindor. Harry, who had the pleasure of sitting opposite him, was staring in concern at the cords in the dog nin's neck, which seemed to be standing out. There was also a twitch in his right eye, and his knuckles were white as he gripped his chopsticks.<p>

Though they weren't supposed to involve themselves in personal affairs during missions, it seemed that there was no avoiding this. Despite being ANBU, despite being skilled killers, despite being friends, and despite all their training, it was inevitable that nine ninja on a long-term mission together at close quarters would start to fight. Because beneath it all, they were human, and human – and animal – nature always found something to disagree on. It was impossible to live together without breaking into argument at least one or twice; fighting this late into the year was a miracle in itself.

Hopefully, Ino and Kiba wouldn't start trying to kill each other, and they would leave Hogwarts intact. Hopefully.

Finally, with a shattering bang, Ino slammed her bowl down and stalked down between the house tables and out of the Hall. Kiba cursed her for leaving him in a still, awkward silence.

"One would think that I was her sworn enemy or something," Kiba mumbled, but loud enough for her to hear. Akamaru gave a dog equivalent of a sigh. He could almost hear Ino gritting her teeth outside. Finally, she seemed to have body-flickered away, because her chakra faded instantly and reappeared near the Forbidden Forest.

"You shouldn't make her angrier," said a voice wisely.

"I know that," Kiba snapped. Everyone started talking again, going back to their own business. If Kiba had looked towards the High Table, he would have seen a very amused Dumbledore, a disapproving McGonagall and a displeased Snape. Hm…

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Hermione suggested. Parvati and Lavender leaned into the conversation. Kami help him.

"_She's _your girlfriend?" Lavender said, incredulous.

"No shit," said Kiba, stabbing his food moodily. "I don't even know what I did wrong."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then what happened?"

With the air of a suffering man, Kiba recounted what had passed between the two of them. He could see Parvati resisting the urge to bang her head on the table. Even Ron and Harry looked like they wanted to face palm.

"Well you obviously offended her," said Parvati. "She was worried about you."

"I know that," Kiba said. "But she kept on going on about it like –"

"Inuzuka," said Lavender.

"Just call me Kiba."

"Okay," Lavender started again, "you shouldn't have brushed her off. Girls hate it when you do that."

"But –"

"Kiba," Hermione said. Her tone was oddly gentle, "when your precious person worries about you, you can't take it lightly. You can't take it for granted. Ino was seriously fretting over your shoulder, and you just wound her up by basically telling her to shut up –"

"I did not!"

"– and talking about _dogs_, of all things –"

"– there is nothing wrong with dogs –"

"– and though I know you love Akamaru very much –"

"– I do; he's saved my life more than once –"

"– I'm pretty sure Ino has done the same as well –"

"– well, she has, but –"

"– so you've got to appreciate her more –"

"– I know that –"

"– because Ino is not an animal, she's human. And more importantly, she's a girl," Hermione finished.

Kiba sighed. "So what do I have to do?"

"Apologise to her," said Hermione. "But make sure she apologises to you as well. I assume this is also her fault for making matters much bigger than they appear." Kiba ran a hand through his hair, and then felt something wet touch his palm. Akamaru was wagging his tail eagerly and pushing his nose into his hand.

"Alright," said Kiba softly. He glanced at the three girls in front of him, and he rose to his feet. "I can't believe I'm taking advice from girls who are _younger _than me," he muttered. Parvati gave him a smug grin.

"Well, like you ninja say: you shouldn't judge by age alone, right?" she said.

* * *

><p>"Alright," Harry said, staring at the DA members. "We're going to learn the spell '<em>Reducto<em>'. I presume you all know what it does?"

The group of wizards and witches nodded. Harry looked at everyone in the eye. "Please pair up and practice."

Naruto and Hinata were standing watch over the lesson today. They gazed at the students approvingly as they did their wand work, noticing their concentration and determination.

"You have done well with this group, Potter-san," Naruto said softly. Harry gave him a half smile.

"Most of it is their hard work," Harry said. Naruto nodded.

"True, but still, you guided them. They have come far," Naruto said. Hinata smiled wanly beside him.

"We're actually quite proud of you, you know," Hinata said. Harry looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you hated me," Harry said blankly. Hinata laughed. "I mean, I hated you guys… at first."

"Well, we did, but you put up with us, just as we put up with you. It did not always end well, but still, we did it," Hinata said. "We've watched you grow, Potter-san, from the little immature boy you were at the start of this year. We know that you will win great battles in the future."

Harry did not know what to say to this. He was deeply touched by what she did, and merely offered the girl a genuine smile before making his rounds around the group again.

Naruto and Hinata moved calmly out of the way as Parvati Patil reduced a table full of Dark magic detectors with dust with her powerful Reductor Spell.

"Wow, Parvati, that was amazing," Harry said, truly meaning it. He eyed the table, or what was left of it, warily, and promised himself to never make Parvati mad again in the future.

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki!" Harry called. The blonde head turned, and its owner grinned when he saw him.<p>

_"Yo,"_ Naruto said, _"what's up?"_

Harry stopped in front of him, puzzlement on his face. "Er, what?"

Naruto cocked his head, clearly confused. _"What are you saying?"_

"What are you saying?"Harry asked. Naruto blinked at him.

_"Ano… Potter-san? You're talking weird,"_ Naruto said. _"Talk properly. I can't understand you."_

"Uzumaki," Harry said, started to get irritated. "I don't know what you're saying. Switch back to English."

_"Eh?"_ Naruto said. _"Potter-san, I don't know what you're talking about. Speak normally."_

The two boys stared at each other, and then the light bulb flashed at the same time.

"You're just trying to annoy me, aren't you," Naruto and Harry said simultaneously, except one sentence was in Japanese. Naruto growled and was ready to start yelling at Harry, when a snarl stopped him.

_"Uzumaki Naruto! If you scream at that boy, I'll scream at you,"_ shouted a loud, commanding and very familiar voice. Naruto cringed and turned to face his pink-haired teammate.

_"Konnichiwa, Sakura,"_ Naruto said. _"What's wrong?"_

Sakura sighed deeply, annoyance visible in the way she held herself and the faint crease on her brow. _"I think the translation spell wore off."_

_"The translation spell?"_ Naruto repeated. _"What's that?"_

Sakura stared at him as though she couldn't believe it. Actually, she did believe it. This reaction was typical of Naruto.

_"Dammit, Naruto! You remember what Moody-san put on us when we first arrived at Grimmauld Place?"_ Sakura said through her teeth. Harry stood at the side, feeling a little left out.

"Uh, I'll just be going then," Harry said, edging away. Both ninja turned to look at him, and he realised that they couldn't understand what he was saying. The expressions on their faces told him that much, "Yeah… bye."

Sakura and Naruto watched as Harry scampered off, and then they turned back to the situation at hand.

_"Do you remember, Naruto?"_ Sakura asked, trying to be patient with him. It was a new tactic. Hinata had said that maybe if Sakura didn't hit Naruto as much, he might be able to answer more quickly because the fear of getting punched was out of the way. Maybe. The cluelessness on Naruto face showed Sakura that it wasn't working. Maybe she should just revert back to hitting him again.

Naruto's face was scrunched up, making him look constipated. That was a clear sign that he was thinking hard. Although, when Naruto was serious _and_ thinking hard at the same time, which was a miracle within itself, his face would take on a blank look, though his eyes would betray his emotions.

_"Oh!"_ Naruto said finally, his expression filled with understanding, _"THAT_ _spell!"_

_"Yeah," _Sakura said. Maybe the new tactic really was working, after all.

_"Ah, then we just have to ask Dumbledore-san to give us the translation charm again,"_ Naruto said. Sakura shrugged.

_"That's basically it. I was on my way to his office when I ran into you and Potter-san,"_ Sakura said. _"Contact everyone else, why don't you."_

_"Yeah, yeah, I'm doing it,"_ Naruto said, waving a hand carelessly in her direction. He tapped on his radio. _"Everyone, please report to Dumbledore-san's office ASAP to renew your translation charm. I assume that they've all stopped working?"_

Seven _"hai"_s were heard, and Naruto and Sakura went off to the headmaster's office.

* * *

><p>"May you please renew our translation charms?" Neji asked. The group were gathered in Dumbledore's office, complete with all his whirring silver instruments spinning merrily away. The old man smiled cheerfully at them, his eyes twinkling, yet again, with amusement, and they rested briefly on Kiba and Ino, on opposite sides of the room, their arms crossed and deliberately not looking at each other.<p>

"Certainly," Dumbledore said. "I must apologise, though. The translation charm is a relatively new discovery, and I wasn't sure how long it would last."

_"How is Neji speaking English?"_ Naruto asked, incredulous.

_"Naruto, after spending about half a year in this place, you're bound to pick up some words,"_ Gaara said dryly. "Even I learnt something."

_"Eh? Even you can speak English?"_ Naruto said, aghast, though he had no idea what Gaara had just said anyway. He rounded to the rest of his teammates. _"Can you all speak English without the charm as well?"_

_"Well, I only know the simple words,"_ Hinata said. The others murmured in agreement.

_"Dead last, as usual,"_ Kiba smirked. Naruto rounded to him.

_"Shut up, dog breath."_

_"Make me."_

_"Oh, I will."_

_"This is so troublesome."_

Dumbledore ignored their bickering and waved his wand over the nine shinobi.

"Translation charms renewed," Dumbledore smiled.

"Thank you very much," Ino said, bowing. "We shall be taking our leave."

"Wait," Naruto said. The smile was gone was his face, though his eyes were apologetic. "Dumbledore-san, may we please ask you a few questions?"

Dumbledore gazed at Naruto for a full ten seconds, and then, smiling graciously, waved his wand so that nine chintz armchairs appeared in front of his desk. Dumbledore himself sat on his chair, weaved his fingers together, and stared at them all through his half-moon glasses.

"Ask away," Dumbledore said. Naruto took a deep breath.

"We have a feeling," Naruto began, "that you know more about this world and the ninja continent than you let on, and how they are related to each other."

"We're discussing this _now_?" Kiba whispered to him. His captain ignored the dog nin. Dumbledore regarded Naruto, and then, slowly, he nodded.

"What made you suspect?"

"Many things," Shikamaru said. He had woken out of his sleepy daze, and he was now alert. "It was strange for the Akatsuki to be appearing one by one into the wizarding dimension. Voldemort couldn't have made Portkeys for all of them, and if he did, how would they have ended up in the ninja continent? Voldemort would have had to go over to our world to do that, and we would have known if he did. Also, that doesn't explain why and how the Akatsuki have been coming so _easily_ into this world."

Silence reigned in Dumbledore's office. All light heartedness was gone now, and the heavy blanket of seriousness lay over them.

"You are right," Dumbledore said finally. "There are things that have been kept from you, but only I, the Third Hokage and a few others know about it. It is a forbidden topic; we have both been sworn to secrecy."

"It involves shinobi as well, so you might as well tell us," Gaara said. Dumbledore said.

"I suppose I should," Dumbledore murmured, "if it helps."

The ninja waited patiently in silence. All eyes were on the old headmaster. Finally, Dumbledore sighed.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but please do not interrupt me," Dumbledore said. They all nodded, and Dumbledore began.

"Five hundred years ago, shinobi and wizards lived together in harmony," Dumbledore began. "They did not bother each other, and kept to themselves. The shinobi lived mainly in Japan, but there were a few small clans scattered across the globe. The peace lasted for a while, but then, inevitably, small scuffles started to break out.

"The scuffles started because wizards boasted that ninja were lower than them. The ninja retaliated by saying that wizards do nothing but wave their magic sticks around. Soon, these jibes became fights, these fights became battles, and these battles became a war. Well, almost. Before the war really started to break out, a shinobi from an unknown clan stepped forward, along with a witch. These two had never seen each other before, but they realised that if they did not work together, then many people would die. The two of them decided to work some very deep magic and ancient chakra. The ninja's name was Aki, and the witch's name was Gatehalle.

"Together, these two decided that because the wizards were so widespread, they would elevate a piece of land high above Japan for the ninja to live on, as this was where the majority of ninja lived. They would then conceal the piece of land with powerful magic and chakra, masking it and making it unreachable and undetectable.

"They did this. The wizards and shinobi knew exactly what was going on, and, truth be told, I think they were glad of it. From the inside, Aki poured chakra into the barrier, and from down below, in Japan, Gatehalle poured her magic. Eventually, the land floating above Japan vanished, and with it, the shinobi on it.

"I heard all this from Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. He said that after the barrier was constructed, the wizards were gradually forgotten, and the ninja started warring between themselves. Eventually, they separated themselves into Hidden Villages, and they have remained that way ever since, even with the arrival of Four Great Shinobi Wars.

"The wizards, too, began to forget about the ninja. The only proof of their existence came from old books. Eventually, both ninja and wizards started to think of each other as mere legends."

Dumbledore finished and closed his mouth. The shinobi opposite him sat in silence as they digested this startling piece of information. Surprisingly, they all believe him.

"Is that why the Akatsuki have been travelling to and fro from the ninja continent and the wizarding world?" Shikamaru asked. "Is it because there are holes in the barrier?"

"Quite right," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Magic and chakra do not last forever, though they can last for a very long time. Now, there are small rips in the barrier, and I assume that the Akatsuki discovered one of them and entered, arriving in the wizarding world. That also explains how Voldemort met them. He didn't find them, _they_ found him."

"I bet it was Kisame," Sakura said. "Kisame probably found him, allied himself with him, and sent word to the others to come one by one into the wizarding world. It was pure chance that Naruto would be coming to the wizarding world as well to guard Hogwarts."

"The tears in the barrier are small, and cannot let more than two or three people pass through at a time," Dumbledore said, "and there has to be a few weeks interval between each passing. Eventually, of course, the holes will grow bigger."

"So that's how Temari and Michiko got captured," Gaara said. "And that's how they left."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "I have found quite a large hole near here. Temari and Michiko left there. The hole was big, so it was comfortable enough for them to get through. The smaller the hole, the more painful it is to squeeze through."

"Is there any way to fix these rips?" Hinata asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"Of course there is, but it will be hard. For one thing, we cannot let word of this slip out of this room. To repair a hole in the barrier, there needs to be a ninja on one side of the barrier pouring his chakra in, and on the other side, a wizard or witch pouring his or her magic in."

"How did you find out about this?" Ino asked curiously. Dumbledore smiled at her.

"I stumbled across a few books and ancient texts," Dumbledore said, "explaining what had happened five hundred years ago. By chance, I also happened to trip across a small hole. It was so small that only one person could fit through it at a time. I stepped in, and found myself in the office of the Third Hokage, solely by chance. He was shocked to see me, of course, and after a while, we both knew what had happened.

"You see, even if someone did want to cross the barrier, they are not allowed to. The Third Hokage knew this, and he knew I meant no harm, so he hid me. Since the rip that allowed me to cross was so small, we were able to mend it without someone on the other side pouring their magic or chakra towards the tear. I stayed in Konoha for a few weeks, and learnt many things there. After a while, I left. I decided to try Apparating out of there. After all, it's not like I was in another dimension, was it? The ninja continent is merely a piece of floating land shrouded by magic."

"Did Apparating work?" Tenten asked. She was idly twirling a kunai around her finger, but she was listening intently nonetheless.

"No, it shouldn't have worked." It was Shikamaru who said that, not Dumbledore. "Dumbledore-san said that the barrier was supposed to be impenetrable, so Apparating is a no-no as well."

"You are quite right," Dumbledore said, nodding in the genius' direction. "Apparating didn't work, so Sarutobi and I tried something else."

"And that would be…?" Neji said. He was focusing his eyes, which were still half blind, at the headmaster intently.

"We forced open a hole," Dumbledore said. He was smiling quite happily at the memory. Neji's eyes widened. Shikamaru muttered a "troublesome" under his breath.

"You mean you made a hole appear?" Neji asked, shocked. Dumbledore inclined his head.

"It was the only way I could have gotten home," Dumbledore said. "I won't tell you how we did it, but it worked. After I stepped through, Sarutobi began pouring chakra towards the hole, and I, on the other side of the barrier, began pouring my magic towards it as well. The tear mended."

"But then, how come we can come here by Portkey if any other magical means don't work?" Sakura asked.

"You came via a special Portkey," Dumbledore said. "Normal ones won't work; only one who understands the nature of the barrier can do it. I used another rare Charm that the Third Hokage and I made up which, after being cast on a Portkey, allows you access through the barrier. Of course, no one else knows about it.

"I only recently found out that Sarutobi died, and I was terribly upset. He was a great friend to me. Very amusing fellow," Dumbledore said sadly. The ninja, once again, sat in silence.

"Who knows about this barrier?" Gaara asked.

"Me, Sarutobi, I believe the Second Kazekage, the second Raikage, Cornelius Fudge, who is the Minster of Magic, the previous Minister before him, the First Hokage, the Third Hokage and also the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade," Dumbledore said, "and now, the nine of you."

"What?" Naruto yelped, "Tsunade-baa-chan?"

"Naruto, is it really that shocking?" Sakura asked dryly. "She _is_ the Hokage."

"This explains a lot," Kiba said, serious for once. "Actually, this explains pretty much everything."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Well, thank you for telling us this, Dumbledore-san. Is there any more from the story?" Dumbledore shook his head. "Alright, may we please take our leave? We have things to discuss."

"Certainly," Dumbledore said. Naruto bowed, as did the others. Then, they all _poofed_ away.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so it was partially my fault, <em>Ino thought, trying to calm herself. She paced around the empty corridor was a bit. _Alright, fine. It was mostly my fault. But Kiba was being a pig!_

_Ugh, I'm making excuses for myself!_

_But he totally deserved it._

_No, he didn't. Not really._

_But he kept on talking about –_

_Well, he was tired, and –_

_So? It doesn't give him any excuse to –_

"Why am I arguing with myself?" Ino finally cried in exasperation. _I'll just fucking apologise to him and that's that!_

Filled with new determination, Ino stilled herself and tried to find Kiba's chakra signature. He was just outside the Great Hall, and though Ino really didn't want to, she went his way.

* * *

><p>Kiba raised an eyebrow when he spotted a girl loitering outside of the Great Hall. She looked quite nervous and she kept on fidgeting with her fingers.<p>

"Um... you okay?" Kiba asked as he drew near. The girl jumped and spun towards him. She was a Gryffindor, if the black and gold scarf around her neck was anything to go by. "You look kinda _–_"

"I'm not spying on him!" the girl blurted out. Kiba blinked and glanced down at Akamaru, who gave him an equally confused look in return.

"Uh... okay, you're not spying on him," Kiba said. The girl went red and cast her eyes down. An awkward silence stretched out, and Kiba thought desperately for something to say. "So... what's your name?"

"Rose," said the girl. "Nice to meet you."

She looked relieved at the change of subject. Kiba inwardly contemplated the weirdness. She was treating him like any other student, which was rare in itself. It was a refreshing change.

"So," Kiba said slyly. "Who's 'he'?"

Rose's face turned into a tomato, and she managed to peep out, "How did you know?"

"Um... because you, like, _told _me?" Kiba grinned. He was having fun teasing her. Her reactions were hilarious.

"It doesn't matter," Rose said. She seemed to deflate, and Kiba cocked his head. "He won't like me anyway."

"Why not?" Kiba asked. He crossed his arms and leaned against Akamaru.

"Who would like a tomboy like me?" Rose muttered resentfully. "He likes all the girls who are pretty and wear makeup and roll up their skirts so they're really short."

"I don't understand," Kiba frowned. "You're pretty anyway. Why does it matter?"

Rose stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. Kiba didn't notice and continued talking.

"You're nice to talk to, I guess. And you don't cake your face in makeup. Seriously. A little makeup is fine and all, but there's a difference between a small amount, and totally plastering it on your face so it looks like you're wearing a Halloween mask," Kiba said, slapping his forehead. Akamaru wagged his tail in agreement. "So, anyway. Do you actually _know _that he likes those types of girls?"

Rose shook herself out of her stupor and managed to say, "No. Not really."

Kiba shrugged. "See? Don't make assumptions, 'cause that'll only lead to heartache. If you don't know, then go find out for yourself. Go and talk to him, and you can see if you _really _like him or not."

Rose was silent for a second or two, then she said, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Kiba hesitated, and he bit his lip. "Well... I don't know. She's kinda pissed at me at the moment..."

"Oh," Rose said. A pause. "You give out advice like a girl!"

Kiba laughed. "Well, my girlfriend _has _influenced me a lot."

"Is she pretty?" Rose asked. "You're really nice, so I suppose you should have a nice, pretty girlfriend."

"Being pretty isn't everything," Kiba said gently. "But yeah, she's beautiful. The best looking girl in the world."

The Gryffindor giggled. Kiba noted that she looked a lot happier than before.

"Okay, I'll go talk to him," Rose smiled. "Thanks a lot, Mr Kiba."

"Just call me Kiba," he said, waving a hand. "And it's not problem."

Rose took a few steps, and then glanced back. "You know... you're the first boy who's called me pretty. So thank you for that as well."

Kiba laughed, and made a mock bow in her direction. "See you later."

Kiba watched her go, and then he started his way along towards the Gryffindor common room.

_I wonder where Ino is, _Kiba thought. _I still have to apologise..._

Kiba froze and let out an involuntary squeak when he felt some dangerous killing intent aimed at him suddenly spike out from behind him.

"So..." a girl's voice hissed. "She's _pretty_, is she?"

"I-Ino," Kiba stuttered. "I was just, um, looking for you..."

He turned around slowly, feeling like a child who's hand was caught in the cookie jar. Ino stood behind him, her hands on her hips and her green eyes glowing dangerously.

"She's _nice _to _talk to_, is she?" Ino snarled. Kiba swallowed nervously as Ino stalked towards him.

"I was just..."

The rest of Kiba's sentence was drowned out when Ino pulled him into a hug.

"Um... Ino?" Kiba said in confusion. The blonde's arms tightened around him.

"Am I really the most beautiful girl in the world?" Ino asked, her voice muffled at his chest.

"Well, yeah. I didn't lie to Rose," Kiba softly. "You truly are."

He wrapped his own arms around Ino's waist, and the pair remained that way for a few minutes.

"Kiba?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry. The argument was my fault. You were tired and I was being stupid. I'm sorry."

Kiba's lips curved into her shoulder.

"S'kay, Ino. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."

* * *

><p>The ninja were feelings the pangs of homesickness. They missed Konoha, but the shinobi found the wizarding world to be a very interesting place nonetheless.<p>

Meanwhile, as the teachers and Hermione persisted in reminding them, the OWLs were drawing ever nearer. All the fifth years were suffering from stress to some degree, but Hannah Abbot became the first to receive a Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey after she burst into tears during Herbology and sobbed that she was too stupid to take exams and wanted to leave school now.

If it had not been for the DA lessons, Harry would have been extremely unhappy. He sometimes felt he was living for the hours he spent in the Room of Requirement, working hard to thoroughly enjoying himself at the same time, swelling with pride as he looked around at his fellow DA members and saw how far they had come. Indeed, Harry sometimes wondered how Umbridge was going to react when all the members of the DA received 'Outstand' in their Defence Against the Dark Arts OWLs.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Potter-san?"<p>

Harry turned from the book he was reading in the library and found himself looking into the smiling face of Uzumaki Naruto. Harry was suddenly struck by how tired Naruto looked. There were bags under his eyes, his skin was pale, and he walked as if his muscles were aching.

"Oh, hi," Harry said. Naruto grinned even more widely, and then plopped himself down next to the boy.

"Watcha doing?" Naruto asked. He studied the book carefully, and then made a face. "I hate studying."

Harry laughed. "What did you want with me?"

"Ah, well." Naruto looked a tad uncomfortable, but then he looked back at Harry with a strangely serious expression on his face. "Here."

Naruto dumped into Harry's hands a necklace. It was simple; just a black band with four silver beads on it and the clasps at the ends.

"Um… what is this?" Harry asked. Naruto chuckled lightly.

"Potter-san… you will probably be in a life-threatening circumstance sooner or later," Naruto said. "When that time comes, please hold this necklace in your hand and shout out my name mentally. I know it sounds dorky, but please bear it in mind and use it. In fact, do it whenever you feel in danger or if you feel the situation you are in is out of your hands."

Naruto glanced at him with the strangest look on his face. Harry saw the seriousness, and though he agreed that it was indeed dorky, nodded and took the necklace, which he immediately put on his neck. He let the beads hang there, and felt an unusual heaviness around him. It was as though he had just accepted an oath or something.

"You ninja really go far to protect your charges on missions, don't you," Harry said nonchalantly, smiling at the older boy. Naruto did not smile back.

"I'm hurt that you think that way," Naruto said softly. He looked away from Harry and stared out the window. "You're not just a charge anymore, Harry. You're a friend."

The wizard realised that it was the first time that Naruto had called him by his first name, and Harry smiled at the back of Naruto's head, knowing exactly what it meant. Unknown to him, Naruto's lips were curved up at the corners as well.

"Thanks… Naruto."

* * *

><p>In the hideout of the Akatsuki and Voldemort, a familiar black figure stepped out from a tear in the barrier. Orochimaru turned around at the figure and grinned.<p>

_"Ah, you've escaped Konoha,"_ he said. _"Was the journey uncomfortable?"_

_"Still spouting crap, as usual, Orochimaru,"_ said the figure.

Orochimaru laughed. _"Now, there are some rules you need to follow, and that includes no killing of anyone in this room, even though you want to, alright? Especially Itachi; you can't kill him. We need him."_

_"Che. And do you expect me to follow those rules?"_

The figure moved forward from the shadows, and Orochimaru glimpsed onyx eyes, dark hair, and, on his back, the crest of the Uchiha clan.

* * *

><p>Neji's breath hitched, and his hand gripped Tenten's.<p>

"Neji?" Tenten said. The Hyuuga's face was blank with shock, and his lips were trembling.

"Tenten," Neji breathed. He turned white eyes towards the weapons mistress.

"Neji, what?" Tenten asked again. She was starting to panic. "What's wrong?"

"Tenten... I can see. My vision... it's coming back."

* * *

><p><strong>The OC in this chapter, Rose, <em>does not <em>belong to me. It belongs to _ladyyuki16_, who requested that her OC show up for a bit in this story.**

**Who said that translations charms were permanent? I certainly didn't.**

**For the explanation of the barrier, I was really, really tempted to put, "The ninja's name was Kishimoto, and the witch's name was Rowling."**

**But then I figured that you guys would spend too much time laughing to read ahead.**

**So, I've ended the chapter on a slightly happier note. All relationships have been resolved, new ones have developed, and there's hope for Neji's eyes. All explanations will be in the next chapter, which will be six months from now. **

**So yes... the hiatus. I really am sorry, guys. But life is life, and that's that.**

**And before I go, one more thing:**

**Honestly, don't lie. Who did I get?**

**Happy April Fools' Day~!**


	26. All in a Day's Work

**I'm baaack! I had an excellent response last chapter :D For those of you who are confused, last chapter's six month hiatus was an April Fools' joke. I have no intention of putting a break on this story. I just wanted to prank people ^^ By the way, that was my first ever April Fools' joke. I did good, didn't I? **

**So, this is the tenth last chapter. Look forward to the next nine :D**

**About Sasuke: for fans of Sasuke, I apologise, because he will not be in this story very much. For non-fans of Sasuke, rest easy, because he will not be in this story very much XD**

**This chapter has nothing in it. Next chapter is when the action starts.**

**And wow. Forty-nine reviews? I love you all XD But I suppose half of them were about people freaking out because of the supposed hiatus :P But the reviews had me giggling like a maniac.**

**Thank you to: NewSlove, furuba-suzume, Mon Esprit Libre, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, PokeKid 25, virginger, Flower in the River, Wolf of Summer, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Chianina, The Liar Of Truth, TheMysteriousAuthoress0925, Dreamer-.-LYNX, MadDogMatt13, StarKiss666, ladyyuuki16, Blackspade003, hello-totoro-ninja, asredwer, Immortalis Cruor Elf, Cadens Stella, Kyuubi No Tenshi, wunsleh, Ichigo Mirai, Veronyka18, CalcBoy91, person, ThePurpleSuperCow, 2amBer, CATSthewriter, bookwormqueen7, LiveLoveMusic20, Dimensional Roamer, xXSolaine-GirlXx, Kagayaku Hoshi-chan, Metoochocolate, Rigoudon3, ArashiKage Naruto, Faith Bell, Scarlett Winds, UsuiXMisakilover, moonlightrurouni, little101, shadowangel9999, Century Viscount, Redstarling, BewareTheIdesOfMarch and PayNoAttention for reviewing.**

**I hope I didn't miss anyone ==;**

**Chapter Twenty Six: All in a Day's Work**

* * *

><p>"It must be our magical immunity," Gaara said quietly. The shinobi were gathered in a circle in the Great Hall. It was about eleven o'clock, night time, and after Tenten had practically screamed at all of them via radio, they had come to the Hall, Tenten had told them the news, and there was much joyful shouting and hugging afterwards. Now, everyone had calmed down and sat to discuss the recent turn of events.<p>

"Remember, ninja bodies are built differently to wizards," Gaara said, "and the effects of spells on us are of a lesser extent than they would usually be. Perhaps this blinding spell was supposed to be permanent on a wizard, but because Neji is a shinobi whose body is built differently, the effect is not lasting. Instead, it fully blinds him, but it is only temporary."

"That makes sense," Sakura said. "That would explain how Neji's vision came back. It's just like what happened to me when Orochimaru kidnapped me a few months ago. According to the experiments, the magic doesn't work as well on us shinobi."

"It's not fully back yet," Neji grumbled. Tenten smacked him playfully on the arm.

"Well, it's _starting_ to come back," Tenten said, rolling her eyes. "And that's beside the point. The point is: it's coming back!"

* * *

><p>"That looks fun," Naruto said, gazing up at the students zooming around on brooms.<p>

"It looks troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled. He rolled his neck, trying to work out the knots, failing to do so, which resulting in troublesome pain, and sighed. The pair of them were overseeing the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice, and, well, they were bored.

"Do you think we can try?" Naruto said. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'we'? I'm not getting on that flimsy piece of wood," Shikamaru said. Naruto made a face.

"Aw, come on, you can even brag to Michiko that her daddy has ridden on a flying broomstick before," Naruto said. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Don't drag her into this," Shikamaru said, but his captain wasn't listening. He was yelling his head off and waving his arms around.

"Yo!" he bellowed to Angelina, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. "Can I have a go on your brooms?"

Angelina turned her head curiously, and when she saw that it was the ANBU captain, flew towards him and paused, hovering above their heads.

"Sure thing," she said. "You can borrow one of the school ones. Does, um, Nara want one as well?" she added, glancing over at the frowning face of Shikamaru. Naruto nodded cheerfully. Angelina waved her wand and two school brooms came speeding over.

"Shi-ka-ma-ru," Naruto said, stretching out his name annoyingly. "Come on, don't be such an ass, just give it a ride."

"With all due respect," Shikamaru said, "no."

"I'll make you polish all of Tenten's weapons," Naruto sang, "I hear that she needs some helpers."

Shikamaru blanched, and weighed his options. One little ride on a broomstick, or two hours or more with Tenten snapping at whatever minute mistake he was making with her 'babies'.

"Fine."

Naruto whooped and tossed him the broom, and then turned back to Angelina. "We won't be bothering you, but thanks for this!" The girl smiled and went off towards her team. Naruto and Shikamaru were left to their own devices.

"So… um… how do you launch?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru sighed.

"Well, you have to get _on_ the broom first," Shikamaru said. He got on his broom, and then kicked off, like he had seen others do. He wasn't prepared for the sudden ascent and let out a gasp of surprise.

"Whoo! Go Shikamaru!" Naruto crowed. Shikamaru grimaced and tried to shift his weight while in the air, almost falling off while he was at it. Oddly enough, he seemed strangely unconcerned about this; he merely looked annoyed. Naruto decided that it was high time that he got into the air as well, and when he finally kicked off, Naruto eyes widened. The people who were observing them wondered why there was such a twisted expression on Naruto's face… almost as if he was hurting. His broom jerked and twitched in the air.

Naruto's lips opened up in a silent scream of horror, and he quickly landed a few metres away from where he started. Shikamaru, noticing his captain's distress, landed next to him.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru asked cautiously. Naruto turned towards his advisor with pained look on his face. "Uh… captain?"

Naruto took a deep, shaking breath, and then managed to squeak out, "My balls hurt."

* * *

><p>Hinata and Sakura stood in front of the roomful of self-defence students, their curious eyes boring into the two ninja.<p>

"Today will just be a questions lesson," Hinata said, smiling at them all in order to un-tense them. The kids looked as if they were expecting an attack, which, going by the shinobi's past lessons, wasn't all that surprising. "What would you like to?"

As expected, Hermione's hand shot into the air and Sakura nodded at her.

"How do you disappear into a cloud of smoke?" Hermione asked.

And so the questions began.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru stared at his captain as Naruto gingerly handed the broom back to Angelina and fought down the urge to laugh.<p>

"Oh," Angelina said when she was aware of Naruto's… condition. "Sorry about that. Flying brooms should always have a Cushioning Charm on them, but the school brooms are so old that the Charm must have worn off. We're getting them replaced in the next season. Sorry about that," she repeated, a tad sheepishly.

Shikamaru smirked and said, "It's alright."

Naruto groaned as Angelina walked away. "I just happened to get the dodgy broom, eh?"

"It would seem so."

Naruto blinked and then turned to Shikamaru, his pain forgotten as he stared seriously at his adviser. "Hey, I need your help with something, Shika-kun."

Okay, so Naruto wasn't _that _serious. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the usage of his nickname – the one which Naruto made up without his consent – and said, "What? It better not be troublesome."

"Of course it is," Naruto sang. His blue eyes were merry. "Just a little something… like… maybe making up a new jutsu?"

Shikamaru stared at him. If it had been any other person, they would have exploded on the spot. But seeing as if was Shikamaru… "Uh… Naruto? Do you know how _hard_ that will be?"

* * *

><p>"Kiba," Gaara said. "Remind me why we are here again?"<p>

The dog nin sighed. "Come on, man. For training! What else? My muscles are all stiff and sore, and I wanna workout."

"Why can't you ask someone else?" Gaara deadpanned. Kiba made a face.

"Because everyone else was busy," he said. Gaara groaned and closed his eyes, but his sand poured out of his gourd elegantly, showing that he was ready to spar.

"Fine," Gaara said, "but only because my muscles are hurting as well."

Kiba's face lit up excitedly and he and Akamaru tensed. Gaara slowly opened his black-ringed eyes once again, and then his sand struck.

_"Sabaku Kyu."_ Sand Binding Coffin.

Kiba and Akamaru twisted and leapt out of the way when a wave of sand came speeding towards them. The two sped off to the other side of the Quidditch pitch.

_"Tsuga!"_ Passing Fang!

Kiba and Akamaru started spinning until they resembled nothing more than whirling vortexes and promptly crashed into Gaara. Gaara's sand shielded him in time, but a few cracks still appeared.

"Damn, has your sand shield become tougher?" Kiba yelled. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I was going to ask _you_ if your _'Tsuga'_ has become stronger," the redhead said.

_"Rendan: Suna Shigure!"_ Successive Shots: Sand Drizzle!

Kiba growled, and he and Akamaru split up to avoid the bullets of sand. Kiba made a clone and Kiba-original managed to make his way around behind Gaara. With a small snarl, Kiba-original launched himself at Gaara with a kunai in his hand, but the Suna shinobi had already seen him coming and, with a fist made out of sand, punched him away. At the same time, while Gaara was distracted, Akamaru jumped onto Gaara's chest and bit down on his arm. Parts of his sand armour cracked away.

"Gah!" Gaara gasped as the full weight of the dog hit his torso. Kiba struggled up from the ground where he had landed, wincing as stars danced around in front of his eyes. "Damn fat dog." Akamaru growled in a very offended way. "Don't tell me you've got rabies." Akamaru barked, even more offended.

Sand slithered around Akamaru's torso and pulled him off, but while Gaara was busy with that, Kiba managed to land a kick to Gaara's chest. At the same time, Gaara grabbed Kiba's foot, which was still connected to his body, pulled him closer and then punched him roughly across the cheek. The dog nin flew through the air and landed several metres away.

"Crap," Kiba mumbled, nursing his cheek and stumbling up. Gaara gasped back his lost air. "You've improved. You used to suck at short-distance fighting." Gaara shrugged, massaging the place where Kiba had kicked him.

"I have to strengthen my weaknesses," Gaara said. Akamaru stood to one side, patiently waiting for Kiba to recover. "How long are we sparring for, anyway?"

"As long as it takes," Kiba grinned. "Going soft now?"

Gaara grimaced. "No, it's just that… I have guard duty in about half an hour."

"What?" Kiba said. "Come on. Half an hour is not enough!"

"Yes, I want to spar longer as well, but… that's Naruto's orders," Gaara said.

"Since when do you take orders from that _baka_ anyway?"

"Since he became captain."

"Weeeellll… you don't have to listen to him."

"I'm not Naruto. And I'm not you, Kiba."

"Sometimes, I really miss the old you. The bloody thirsty, crazy you who doesn't listen to anybody."

"Oh, really? That side can resurface anytime."

"What? No! I was joking! I like this side better!"

"… I was joking too, Kiba."

"Oh…"

"Woof!"

"Shut up, Akamaru."

* * *

><p>Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru sat in a small circle; scrolls sprawled in front of them, a brush in Shikamaru's hand.<p>

"Here, you can combine the Rat, Tiger and Snake hand seals," said Shikamaru, demonstrating, "and then add in Monkey, Hare and then Ram. Finally go Ox, Bird, Rat, Dog, Boar, Bird, Boar, Dragon, and Horse."

Naruto and Hinata frowned and then copied the hand seals. At the end, they chanted, _"Jakka Maho no Jutsu! (2)"_

A huge swell of chakra bubbled out, but since the two of them didn't focus it on anything, it merely retreated back to their bodies.

"It worked," said Shikamaru in bemusement.

"Thanks, Shikamaru," said Naruto gratefully.

"I don't know how effective it'll be because this is the first jutsu that directly affects magic itself, instead of chakra," said Shikamaru seriously. "Chakra and magic are different, yes, but the components are quite similar. This technique will last for five years if not activated, but once it does, you can't use it again unless you mark the target once more. Got it?"

Shikamaru gazed at the two until both Naruto and Hinata gave him nods.

* * *

><p>"I can see your face." Deadpan.<p>

"Oh, really?"

Pause.

"Still quite blurry though, but I can definitely see you."

Silence.

"Why are you so unexcited about this?"

"…"

"…"

"Who says I'm not?"

"Neji!" Tenten cried in exasperation. Neji smiled faintly at her and gently hit her on the head.

"I will be able to resume my duties," Neji said. He slowly got to his feet and stared in the general direction of the window.

It was night time and Tenten had been doing her rounds when Neji had appeared out of nowhere. The weapons mistress hadn't been alarmed; sometimes Neji did that. And because Neji came to _her_ to report the healing of his eyes, it made Tenten's heart swell.

For Tenten, the fact that Neji could regain his eyesight was more a personal happiness for her than her other teammates. She had been the one taking care of Neji these past few, sightless days, and seeing Neji blind was saddening.

Seeing Neji disappointed was painful.

But seeing Neji _defeated _was completely intolerable.

It didn't help that the Hogwarts students were unused to seeing weak ninja.

"The ninja have already got the layout of Hogwarts memorized, even though the layout changes, so being blind shouldn't be a problem for Hyuuga, right?" some said.

"They've got that chakra-thingy! Why can't they just use that and make a mental map, like echolocation?" others exclaimed.

"So? They're ANBU-ninja-weirdo-invincible-people. Surely they can do _something _to help themselves," the rest shrugged.

It was all Tenten could do to _not _run a kunai through these types of people. She hated it so much.

_Don't think we're unbeatable! _Tenten wanted to scream at them. _Just because we're ANBU it doesn't mean we can do everything! We all have weaknesses!_

_We're human, too!_

Because shinobi weren't perfect. They weren't _gods_. They all made mistakes and those who criticised the way Tenten let Neji hit the door while guiding him – when he was blind – had _no idea _how hard it was for her. They didn't know the burden of seeing that one unshakable person in their life become so _helpless_. They had no knowledge of the strength one had to contain to stay strong _for _that person.

They had _no idea._ And it wasn't fair for the students to judge the shinobi the way they did and suggesting things that were out of their control, as if the ninja were superheroes or something.

It wasn't fair.

"But then," Tenten muttered to herself, ignoring the strange look Neji threw her way. "When is life ever fair?"

* * *

><p><strong>(2) <em>Jakka Maho no Jutsu<em> = Weakening Magic Technique **

**I made it up ;D The hand seals that Shikamaru are talking about at the end are just a sequence that I put together randomly. I wanted it to be 'Weakening Energy Technique", but apparently Google Translate doesn't know the Japanese word for 'energy'. Yes, I used Google Translate (which is 95% wrong most times) so if you guys got a better translation, please let me know~! It will come in VERY (extreme emphasis on 'very') important later on. Way, way, _way_ later on. **

**The last scene at the end about how ninja aren't perfect are for those of you who were proposing strange ideas that Neji could do to help him on his way because he was blind. They were good, but they annoyed me. Because I think you guys are missing something here: ANBU aren't gods, as stated in the text. ANBU still have stuff that they can and can't do, and quite frankly, all those ideas, while they had nice intentions, feels to me like they are twisting ANBU and making it seem as if they are superior to the average ninja, and though that _is _true, some of the ideas could pretty much surpass Kage-level and it would completely shake the power balance in the ninja world.**

… **But I still can't believe some of you thought that Neji would be permanently blind x) I still need him too much in this story for him to be useless, thank you very much ;) **

**As said in the Author's Note at the beginning, this chapter was just a spare one (quite possibly the _last _filler). Next chapter will be when things get rolling.**

**I start school tomorrow, so updates may be hectic, especially seeing as I've got a million other stories to be working on as well.**

**Shameless Self-Advertising: I have another Naruto x Harry Potter crossover I've been working on called _Zinnia_. It's got a more original storyline than the usual ANBU-go-to-Hogwarts, and it stars our very own Nara Shikamaru ;D I will be forever happy if you would give it a chance :D Thank you~!**


	27. Betrayal

**So, this time last year, I clicked on 'publish new story' in FanFiction, and thus _To Be Different _was uploaded and posted. I think that was too vague… Okay, I'll spell it out for you:**

**Today is _To Be Different_'s first birthday ^^ Yay!**

**(I know today is May 1st, but I typed this Author's Note out yesterday.)**

***Possible spoiler for Naruto chapters 582, 583 and 584***

**RAAAARGH! I was absolutely _fine _just mindlessly hating Yakushi Kabuto all this time, and suddenly Kishimoto-san just drops his back-story on us and thus I _now _feel freaking sorry for the jerk. Why, why, why do you have to make my feelings of dormant empathy for Kabuto suddenly stir, you stupid author? (I'm joking. I have the utmost respect for you, Kishimoto-san.)**

***End spoiler***

**There will be reappearances of past OCs in this chapter. Jason Fleance was the Slytherin boy captured alongside Sakura in chapters eleven, twelve and thirteen. Mark Pilate is his best friend and was given detention by Neji in chapter nineteen.**

**Thanks to the reviewers: TheNSIGirl, DreamingOfSerenity, ThePurpleSuperCow, Masked Bard of Chaos, Furionknight, PayNoAttention, virginger, ladyyuuki16, WinxPossible, Ichigo Mirai, xXSolaine-GirlXx, MadDogMatt13, StarKiss666, TheMysteriousAuthoress0925, hello-totoro-ninja, tenshi-no-akuma-81, person, xxpriestess-of-the-moonxx, shadowangel9999, moonlightrurouni, Ignisha, Flower in the River, JadedKatrina, NewSlove, Mon Esprit Libre, CalcBoy91, Redstarling, Nerd4ever243, Rasengan 918, SweeterThanChocolate, CrazyForYuu, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Voxination, Konoha's Red wolf, XxStarLitxX, to be diffrent review, RedRangerBelt and kotokolove.**

**Note:**

'_**This is when words are being mouthed.'**_

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Betrayal**

* * *

><p>"Neh-jiiiiiiii!"<p>

Neji blinked.

"Neji!"

"…"

"Neji… Neji. Neji, Neji, Neji, NejiNejiNejiNejiNeji–!"

"By the gods, _what_?"

Neji whirled around and his white eyes glared furiously down at the small second year boy grinning cheerfully up at her.

"Hi, Neji!"

Neji raised an eyebrow, his anger disappearing for a second to give way to surprise. "Pilate-san?"

Mark Pilate nodded and beamed. Mark was the second year Slytherin boy whom Neji had once given detention to for "disrespecting men with long hair." They stood in the middle of a half-crowded corridor, some lucky students having been let out of class early. Unfortunately for Neji, it seemed that Mark was amongst them.

"Is there anything you need?" Neji asked coolly, folding his arms. His earlier irritation returned. "You were yelling my name… a lot."

Mark copied his pose, crossing his arms and generally just pissing Neji off. "Uh, _no_. I just wanted to say hi."

A tick mark appeared. "I heard you the first time."

"Well, duh. But you weren't turning around, so –"

"Is it just me, or did you get about ninety percent more annoying since the last time I saw you?" Neji snapped, cutting across the boy. "Stop accentuating unnecessary words."

"_Why_? It's just how I speak," Mark said. A small, triumphant grin fought its way across his face. "You can't punish me for that, Neh-_ji_."

_He's just doing it to annoy you. Don't spear him with a kunai. Naruto will get mad and it'll be too much of a hassle to hide a body._

"So, anyways," Mark said. "How're your eyes?"

The unexpected question threw Neji off, and the fact that Mark's expression had turned serious was even odder. Recovering quickly, Neji nodded and said, "They're getting better. Thanks for asking."

"That's good," Mark said. "But then, I guess you're a little disappointed, aren't cha?"

Neji cocked his head. "Why?"

"Well, while you were blind, it seemed like you were having a little too much fun leaning against your girlfriend like that," Mark said slyly. "What's her name? Ah, yeah. The guard called Ten_ten_."

Silence.

Vein pop.

Vein pop.

Vein pop.

"Mark," Neji said slowly, not even bothering to use honorifics. He was going to kill this kid. "If you don't get out of my sight in less than three seconds, you'll be writing lines for the _rest of the fucking year_."

Mark had the confidence to flash him a bright, happy, _infuriatingly _fake smile before giving him a mock salute and scampering off.

_I can't believe he's only twelve, _Neji thought, trying to stop his left eyebrow from twitching. _Next time I see him, I'll hang him from the Great Hall in nothing but his underwear._

* * *

><p>Mark's eyes brightened once he spotted his best friend, Jason Fleance. The other boy waved and Mark hurried towards him.<p>

"Hey, let's go eat," Mark said. Jason nodded and fell into step beside him, heading towards their dinner. Even now, months after Jason's capture, Mark still got worried. Though the guards had erased Jason's memories, Mark was still afraid that it may break and the memories would come flooding back. He didn't know what Jason had gone through, only that the state that his friend was in was bad enough for him to conclude that he really didn't want to know.

"Look, it's that blind one," Mark overheard a first year whisper. Mark spared a glance behind him, and saw Neji's tall form sticking out from the crowd. Remembering how he had annoyed the guard just minutes earlier, Mark gave a small gulp and tried to nudge Jason forwards into the Hall.

"Whoa, he can _see _now? Or is he just using some weird magic thing again?"

"What? The mental map theory?"

Mark frowned.

"Geez, he was so useless when he was blind. They should have just shipped him home."

"The less the better."

"Oh, shut up," Mark muttered.

"What did you say, punk?"

Whoops. He had said it louder than intended.

The Entrance Hall fell quiet. Mark spun towards the third years who had been talking about Neji. They were two boys, larger than him and very… scary looking.

"Say that again," Monkey One demanded.

Mark wondered whether he should apologise or not. Nah, he didn't feel like it. "Are you deaf or something? I told you to shut up. Stop talking shit about the ninja."

"Mark," Jason whispered.

"What, they your _friends _now, eh?" Monkey One sneered.

"Why the hell would someone even talk to those arrogant shitheads?" Monkey Two added. "Oh right. You're a Slytherin, so I suppose that's why."

Monkey One and Monkey Two were both in Gryffindor. Huh. Figures.

Mark snarled. Jason had frozen beside him. Everyone was looking at him. He didn't exactly care at the moment. Mark always had a one-track mind. Right now, he was focused on venting out his anger at the third years. He did not notice Neji standing behind him with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide with shock. "Stop bad-mouthing the ones who are protecting you, you ungrateful little–"

"Alright, that's enough, now," said an airy voice. Tenten poked her head out from the crowd, her brown eyes unusually bright and a slight smirk playing about her lips. "You'll start a fight, here."

Tenten grabbed Mark by the scruff of the neck and said, "Come with me, little man."

"Hey, let me go! I'm not finished!" Mark shouted, struggling. Tenten didn't notice his attempts at escape and merely fought her way through the sea of students. Jason was left standing with two very red-faced students who looked a millimetre away from snapping his neck.

Mark gave up on fighting and let Tenten drag him to the stairway where there were virtually no students. Mark pressed his lips together and waited for the lecture he just _knew _was coming. However, Tenten merely crouched down to his eye-level…

… And patted him on the head.

"Thanks, little man," Tenten smiled. "That was sweet of you."

"Hey, lady. I wasn't trying to be sweet. I was trying to prove a point," Mark said defensively. "And don't call me 'little man'."

"Then don't call me 'lady'," Tenten countered. She stood up to her full height, grinning down at him. "Anyways, I've got to go. I'm supposed to be tailing someone, so if you'll excuse me…"

Tenten ruffled his hair once more and made her way towards the Hall. Mark stared after her sudden departure, smoothed his (awesomely styled) hair, and followed her.

"I don't need you to fight my battles," said a smooth, familiar baritone voice.

"I wasn't fighting," Mark said, pausing. He planted his hands on his hips and said proudly, "I was helping."

"You call that helping?" Neji said dryly, getting off the wall he was leaning on. "I call that making enemies."

"Heh. Well, since you're such a pansy boy with girly hair, I figured you'd appreciate it," Mark said. Neji rolled his eyes and, without saying another word, slouched off. Mark watched him go, and then realised something.

"Hey!" Mark called after him. "You didn't give me detention!"

"For what?" Neji asked, without turning around.

"For insulting your hair!"

"… Just this once, Mark, I'll let you off."

"Don't go easy on me!"

"I wasn't going easy on you." A pause. "I'm just feeling lazy today."

* * *

><p>Susan Bones shifted guiltily when she saw the Slytherin boy getting dragged away by the bun-haired guard. In truth, she also shared the opinion that it wasn't really the Hyuuga's fault that he lost his sight and that the school should not condemn him for it, but unlike the Slytherin, she hadn't had the guts to speak up.<p>

She heard all the nasty murmurings in the castle. Being a quiet person, Susan was not noticed and thus people spoke freely around her. Around half the school didn't like the guards and when Hyuuga could not see, they made their disdain clear. And she was too cowardly to oppose them.

But she knew that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. While half the school were against the shinobi, the other half supported them. And so, Susan decided that since her mouth refused to move, she would help the ones defending Hogwarts in silence along with the others who did not believe that the ninja were crazy, psychopathic murderers. By giving them the small things, like pointing the them in the right direction when they were lost, or telling them that a fight was brewing before it went all out, or just simply giving them some acknowledgment when they passed each other in the hallway.

Because truly, they deserved it.

* * *

><p>The sky was red and bleeding when the members of Dumbledore's Army finally started practicing Patronuses. The Room of Requirement was filled with bright bursts of light as various silver animals ghosted across the room gracefully.<p>

However, the nine shinobi within the castle were very tense, knowing that a well-thought out, but still highly exasperating plan was about to take place.

"These Patronuses are hurting my eyes," Kiba complained from his corner. Ino, who stood next to him, sighed and otherwise ignored him.

"They're not supposed to hurt your eyes," Harry said patiently. "And they're not supposed to be pretty, either," he added to Lavender in response to her comment. "They're supposed to protect you."

Parvati was beaming in happiness as her Patronus drifted in the air in front of her. "This is the first time I've beat Lavender in learning things," she told Harry.

"Oh, hush," Lavender said, but her tone was light. "Besides, I've done it as well!"

Neville glanced at the pair. "I still can't do it," he said miserably. "All I get is a smoky thing..."

"Think of something happy," Kiba piped out unhelpfully. Ino cuffed his head.

"He already knows that," she asked, her tone unamused. Her green eyes flickered to the door, which had just opened and closed. "Oi… Kiba."

"Yeah, yeah, gotcha."

Harry looked around in confusion as the whole Room became silent. He couldn't see who had come in, but then he felt a tugging at his waist, and he glanced down to meet large, green tennis ball eyes.

"D-Dobby," Harry said in surprise. "Why do you look so – what's wrong?"

Dobby was shaking with terror.

"Harry Potter, sir..." squeaked the elf, trembling from head to toe, "Harry Potter, sir... Dobby has come to warn you..."

Harry heard the radios at Ino's and Kiba's neck crackle, and the clear voice of Naruto ringing through.

"Ino, Kiba, get the kids out of there," Naruto's voice barked. "The hag is coming. I repeat: she's coming to the Room of Requirement. Get the kids out of there!"

"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby cried. "Please... she's coming!"

Harry did not have to ask who 'she' was. He had already confirmed it with the message from Naruto.

Harry straightened up, his face white.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed. "RUN!"

They all pelted towards the exit at once, forming a scrum at the door, then people burst through. Harry could hear them sprinting along the corridors and hoped they had the sense not to try and make it all the way to their dormitories.

"Potter-san, get going!" Ino shouted. She pushed him out the door, and both she and Kiba closed it behind them as they left. They started urging the kids to hurry and they started running themselves, ignoring the twinges of pain Ino's and Kiba's muscles were giving them.

"Harry, come on!" shrieked Hermione.

Harry scooped up Dobby, who had miraculously made it out as well, and ran with the elf in his arms.

"Dobby – this is an order – get back down to the kitchen with the other elves and, if she asks you whether you warned me, lie and say no!" said Harry. "And I forbid you to hurt yourself!" he added, dropping the elf.

"Thank you, Harry Potter!" squeaked Dobby, and he streaked off. Harry glanced left and right, the others were moving so fast he caught only glimpses of flying heels at either end of the corridor before they vanished; he started to run right; there was a boys' bathroom up ahead, he could pretend he's been in there all the time if he could just reach it–

"Wait, Potter-san, not that way!"

Harry glanced behind him, confused, and then he felt something catch around the ankles and he fell spectacularly, skidding along on his front for six metres before coming to a halt.

"AAARGH!"

When he stopped, he rolled over on to his back and saw Malfoy concealed in a niche beneath an ugly dragon-shaped vase.

"Trip Jinx, Potter!" he said. "Hey, Professor – PROFESSOR! I've got one!"

Umbridge came bustling round the far corner, breathless but wearing a delighted smile.

"It's him!" she said jubilantly at the sight of Harry on the floor. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good – fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here... stand up, Potter!"

Kiba cursed under his breath and tapped his radio.

"Naruto... they've got Potter-san," he said.

"Ah," Naruto's voice said out of the radio. "Roger that. I'll be there in a second."

Kiba and Ino did nothing, but simply followed both Harry and Umbridge up to Dumbledore's office. Umbridge made to seize Harry's arm, but a voice stopped her.

"Don't touch him," Ino said coldly. Umbridge glanced at her, the joyful smile slipping for a second, but then it returned again.

"Let's see how Dumbledore and you ninja get him out of this problem," Umbridge said. They were at the stone gargoyle in minutes. Harry wondered how many of the others had been caught. He thought of Ron – Mrs Weasley would kill him – and of how Hermione would feel if she was expelled before she could take her OWLs. And it had been Seamus' very first meeting... and Neville had been getting so good...

"Don't panic," Ino said under her breath, noticing the vast array of emotions sprinting across Harry's face. "It's not like you're going to die or anything."

"Could've fooled me," Kiba said in an undertone.

"Fizzing Whizzbee," sang Umbridge; the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, Harry first, with Ino and Kiba bringing up the rear.

To none Ino's and Kiba's surprise, the office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly behind him, his face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, was rocking backwards and forwards on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation; Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard with very short wiry hair whom Harry did not recognise, were positioned either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands. The only person the two ninja were glad to see was their captain, Naruto, who stood beside McGonagall, his face blank.

The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses were not shamming sleep tonight. All of them were alert and serious, watching what was happening below them with a sense of urgency.

As the door of Dumbledore's office swung shut, Harry could feel the glare of Cornelius Fudge, which was also laced with vicious satisfaction.

"Well," he said. "Well, well, well…"

Harry replied with the dirtiest look he could muster. His heart was thrumming madly inside him, but his brain was oddly cool and clear. Ino smiled faintly when she saw that Harry had calmed down.

"He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower," said Umbridge. There was indecent excitement in her voice. "The Malfoy boy cornered him."

"Did he, did he?" said Fudge appreciatively. "I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Potter… I expect you know why you are here?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, to respond with a defiant "yes". At the same time, Kiba was planning to cut across Harry and make up a reason why he had been running in the hallways. Just as both their mouths were half open, Naruto and Dumbledore shook their heads at the same time, Dumbledore at Harry, Naruto at Kiba; Dumbledore because he needed Harry to say "no", and Naruto because he needed Kiba to shut his mouth.

"Ye-no." Harry stuttered.

"I – never mind." Kiba peeked at his captain, received the tiniest of nods, and then back at Fudge again, clamping his mouth closed.

"I beg your pardon?" Fudge said, glancing at Harry and Kiba. Kiba shook his head, signalling that he wasn't going to say anything.

"No," said Harry, firmly.

"You _don't_ know why you are here?"

"No, I don't," said Harry.

Fudge looked incredulously from Harry to Professor Umbridge. Harry took advantage of his momentary inattention to steal his own quick look at Dumbledore, who gave the carpet the shadow of a wink.

"So you have no idea," said Fudge, his voiced positively sagging with sarcasm, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"

"School rules?" said Harry. "No."

"Or Ministry Decrees?" amended Fudge angrily.

"Not that I'm aware of," said Harry blandly.

Ino could see the blood pressure rising in Fudge, and tried to smother a smile. As Fudge continued talking, Ino caught the eye of her captain. Naruto was trying to tell her something, and the clear panic in his blue eyes had Ino on edge.

_'What?'_ Ino mouthed to Naruto.

_'Fucking Dumbledore changed the plan,' _Naruto mouthed back. _'He's going to…' _Ino couldn't lip-read the rest of the sentence.

_'What?'_

But Ino was distracted when Umbridge produced a witness. The girl: Marietta Edgecombe.

Ino's mind immediately hissed, _Traitor._

Marietta raised her head. Ino noticed with pleasure that Fudge had nearly set himself on fire as he jumped backwards into the fire. Marietta gave a wail before she pulled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before everyone had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word 'SNEAK'.

_Serves her right, betraying her friends and comrades like that,_ Ino thought, without a speck of mercy for the girl.

"Ino. You better listen to me."

The barest of a whisper passed into Ino's ears. Naruto's lips were hardly moving; he looked livid as he tried to explain the new situation to her. Once he did (via lip-reading), Ino's face went white.

_Shit._

Meanwhile, Umbridge continued talking. "You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade–"

"And what is your evidence for that?" cut in Professor McGonagall.

"I have a testimony from Willy Widdershins, Minerva, who happened to be in the bar at the time. He was in a heavy cloak, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpaired," said Umbridge smugly. Ino dimly remembered that Gaara had henged into a random who was heavily bandaged, and Sakura had turned into a witch. They should have checked for other eavesdroppers! "He heard every word Potter said and hastened straight to the school to report to me–"

"Oh, so _that's_ why he wasn't prosecuted for setting up all those regurgitating toilets!" said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. "What an interesting insight into our justice system!"

_Freakin' corrupted Ministry officials,_ Ino thought. A portrait behind her voiced out her thoughts loudly.

"The purpose of Potter's meeting with these students," continued Professor Umbridge, "was to persuade them to join an illegal society, whose aim was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age –"

"Excuse me, Umbridge-san, but a word here?" Naruto said quietly, speaking for the first time. The non-ninja occupants in the room jumped, once again forgetting the presence of the shinobi. "I think you're wrong there."

Fudge merely regarded Naruto smugly and said, "Oh, and what is the excuse this time, pray tell? What have you and Dumbledore cooked up to get Potter out of trouble this time?"

Naruto gave him a faint curve of his lips, and Dumbledore spoke, "Professor Umbridge is wrong to suggest that such a group was, at that time, illegal. If you remember, the Ministry Decree banning all student societies was not put into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules at all in the Hog's Head."

Kiba coughed in amusement, Akamaru wagged his tail and Ino gauged the reactions of Fudge and Umbridge. Fudge remained motionless in mid-bounce, his mouth hanging open, while Umbridge looked as though she had been struck in the face by something very heavy. The woman recovered first.

"That's all very fine, headmaster," she said, smiling sweetly, "but…"

As Umbridge rattled on and on, Ino was busy trying to figure out a way to get into Marietta's head. She knew that soon, Umbridge would try to use Marietta once again as evidence, and she needed to use one of her mind jutsu to change the outcome. The only problem was that she didn't think that her toppling over in the middle of the room, out cold, would go unnoticed by everyone. As she thought, Ino heard a tiny whisper from Kingsley, and a small rustle. She swore that she felt something brush against her side, a gentle something like a draught or bird wings, but looking down she saw nothing there. She looked over at Kingsley, one eyebrow raised in question. Kingsley merely gave her a small smile and acted as thought nothing happened.

"Evidence?" repeated Umbridge, with that horrible wide toad-like smile. "Have you not been listening, Dumbledore? Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?"

_I knew it,_ Ino thought.

"Oh, can she tell us about six months' worth of meetings?" Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows. "I was under the impression she was merely reporting a meeting tonight."

"Miss Edgecombe," said Umbridge at once, "tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear. You can simply nod or shake your head. I'm sure that won't make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months?"

Kiba shifted in alarm beside her, and Ino bit her lip. She knew that this was it. Then, her eyes narrowed. She gazed evenly at Marietta's face, trying to see if she was wrong or not. She wasn't sure, it may be a trick of the light, but Marietta's eyes seemed oddly blank. She suddenly thought of Kingsley's whispered word, the draught, and Marietta's eyes, and began to put it all together. As Marietta shook her head, to the surprise of everyone in the room, she looked back at Kingsley and grinned at him.

Without warning, Umbridge seized Marietta by the front of her robes and began shaking her very hard.

"What do you mean 'no'? I'm asking you whether or not these meetings have been going on these past six months!" Umbridge shouted. She continued shaking her very hard. A split second later Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised; Kingsley started forwards and Umbridge leapt back from Marietta, waving her hands in the air as though they had been burned.

"I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores," said Dumbledore, and for the first time, he looked angry.

"Well, the meeting tonight – the one we know definitely happened–"

"Yes," said Umbridge, pulling herself together, "yes… well, Mss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor, accompanied by certain _trustworthy_ students."

Ino glanced around as Umbridge continued to babble, and caught her captain's eye. Naruto held Kiba's gaze, and he repeated the message that something big was going to happen soon. Ino saw Kiba's brow furrow and he sent her a look. She shook her head.

"Dumbledore's Army_._"

Ino's eyes flickered over to Fudge, where he was reading the name at the top of the list of students in the DA.

"Then you _have_ been plotting against me!" Fudge yelled.

"That's right," said Dumbledore cheerfully. Ino could almost see the cogs of the headmaster's brilliant brain working as he tried to find a way out of this problem.

"NO!" shouted Harry. Kingsley flashed a look of warning at him, McGonagall widened her eyes threateningly, and Naruto glared at Harry as if to say, 'Shut up, idiot!'

Ino looked from Dumbledore to Naruto. Her captain was staring at the headmaster, almost with a look of resignation.

_What's going on?_ Ino thought. She caught Kiba's eye as Fudge yelled and Dumbledore responded lightly, and the dog nin shrugged. Clearly, he didn't know what was happening either.

"You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"

"Ah," said Dumbledore gently, "yes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag."

"Snag?" said Fudge, his voice still vibrating with joy. "I see no snag, Dumbledore!"

"Well," said Dumbledore apologetically, "I'm afraid I do."

"Oh, really?"

"Well – it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to – what is the phrase? – _come quietly_. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course – but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."

Ino whirled to Naruto, silently demanding an explanation now. Naruto mouthed some words to her.

_What?_ Ino thought.

_'He's going on the run.'_

_Huh?_

_'He's going on the run. He's escaping Hogwarts.'_

_What the hell? This wasn't part of the plan! Either of them! Naruto just said that–_

Ino looked at Dumbledore just in time to see him raise his wand. A streak of silver light flashed around the room; there was a bang like a gunshot and the floor trembled; Ino fought her way forwards and grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and forced him down; several of the portraits yelled, Fawkes screeched and a cloud of dust filled the air. A dark figure rose and fell to the ground with a crash; there was a yelp, which sounded like it came from a dog, a shriek and a thud and someone cried, "No!"; then there was the sound of breaking glass, frantically scuffling footsteps, a groan… and silence.

Ino blinked the dust out of her eyes and saw a very towering figure moving towards them.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked. Ino coughed and nodded. Kiba rose beside her, Naruto's hand on his shoulder. Akamaru sniffed the air and sat down next to Kiba.

"My back is hurting me," Naruto grumbled.

"Naruto, I want you to stay out of sight," Dumbledore said, ignoring the blonde's comment, his voice taking on a sense of urgency. "These are orders: you are to hide and not be seen, but at the same time, continue what you came here to do. Umbridge will want to get rid of you, and it's best if you stay out of sight. Continue your mission in the shadows."

"Gotcha," Naruto said. Dumbledore turned to Harry.

"Listen to me, Harry," he said. "You must study Occlumency as hard as you can, do you understand me? Do everything Professor Snape tells you and practise it particularly every night before sleeping so that you can close your mind to bad dreams – you will understand why soon enough, but you must promise me –"

The man called Dawlish was stirring. Naruto stalked over and hit him over the head. Dawlish slumped back down again. Dumbledore seized Harry's wrist.

"Remember – close your mind–"

But as Dumbledore's fingers closed over Harry's skin, Ino frowned when she saw the boy's eyes unfocus, and a scary, strange hunger descended upon his features.

"– you will understand," whispered Dumbledore.

Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over him. Dumbledore released Harry, raised his hand and grasped the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the two of them were gone.

As Fudge started to open his eyes, Naruto turned to Harry and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry," Naruto said. He smiled gently. "We'll be around, so don't worry."

He then winked at the pair and whispered, "See ya." Ino waved at them and Kiba flashed them a toothy grin. There was a _poof_ of smoke, and the ANBU captain, Kiba, Akamaru and Ino disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>LE GASP! Blatant copying from the book! Was this last bit confusing? I thought it was confusing when I read it, even though it works out perfectly in my head...<strong>

**I'm sorry about that. But this event remains unchanged for a _reason_… and no, I'm too sleepy to rewrite it in my own words. And it's eleven o'clock at night and I have to wake up in about seven hours, so excuse me. I'm tired, this chapter is tired, and I would like to go to sleep now.**

**I had fun to Mark Pilate in the first two scenes. I was originally going to do Jason Fleance as the one who stands up to the two Monkeys, but I figured Mark's personality was better suited. Truth be told, I like the first two scenes better than the rest of the chapter T^T**

**Did you know…?**

**That this whole story has been planned out ages ago. In fact, I finished planning last year (2011) about three months after I published the first chapter, and have been tweaking it every now and then ever since XD I'm actually pleased that I held out on posting, because during the time frame between then and now, I have had so many good plot ideas and the whole story has completely changed in comparison to what it was previously. Be glad.**

**Happy 1st birthday, _To Be Different_**


	28. Of Battles and Pranks

**Hahaha… uh, hi everyone! *Smiles sheepishly* I'm… um… very sorry for vanishing for two months. I had a lot of things going on. You know, the usual: school, exams, life, new anime/manga to obsess over…**

**Anyway, I'm glad to be back. This chapter was killing me. Though it had already been written out, I decided to rewrite it since I don't even know what the hell I was thinking when I typed the original ten months ago… **

**But holy crap, I got 58 reviews. O_o Like, whoa… Thank you very much, everyone!**

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**As for the reviewer ADVISER: please don't troll my on story. I'm sorry, but I really don't care about your version of chakra. Plus, I can't help you 'spread the word' (not that I was planning to) if I can't even understand what you wrote due to lack of grammar and an inability to read through bullshit.**

**This chapter, and perhaps the next two, will be a little… jumpy. There will be a lot of things going on because it's to set the stage for the big battle at the Ministry of Magic. If any of you are wondering, there will be 36 chapters in this story, so only seven chapters left!**

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Of Battles and Pranks**

* * *

><p>Naruto stood up to his full and (quite possibly) imposing height as his team of eight stared back at him. "Sakura, Gaara, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba… these are my orders for as long as need be unless stated otherwise." Here, he paused for a second and continued, "Our client, Dumbledore Albus, has disappeared. He has left his instructions for us, and I want you all to listen and listen well. With Dumbledore gone, Umbridge will probably be headmistress. From now on, we'll be staying out of sight. Our mission will continue as per usual, but we'll be sticking to the shadows. Let no one see you unless it is Harry, Hermione, the Weasley family or the teachers loyal to Dumbledore. Any questions or protests so far?"<p>

There were none.

The nine ANBU stood in a deserted hallway, and for the first time in a long while, all were completely serious. Their faces were wiped smooth and calm, their backs erect, and they were clad in full armour including their weapons.

"What are we to tell Harry?" Ino asked.

Naruto contemplated this, and then said, "We'll tell him in a few days. Umbridge will likely question him soon, and the less he knows the better. Afterwards, however, we'll tell him everything.

"We'll continue to patrol the castle and keep idiots out of trouble. I will assign you all a partner and you are to stay with that partner until otherwise stated. It follows: Gaara with Sakura, Tenten with Neji, and Kiba with Ino. Shikamaru, I need your help, and Hinata, I need your eyes," Naruto said.

"Question," Kiba said. Naruto signalled for him to continue. The Inuzuka-nin's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell us the plan? The full plan? What happened in Dumbledore's office could have been avoided if Ino and I knew what you were going to do."

Naruto sighed. "We were supposed to only make Dumbledore disappear from the caslte, but that freaking Headmaster only told me that he was going on the run a few seconds prior to the confrontation. I'm sorry. But as ANBU, you should have the ability to adapt quickly to new situations, so stop complaining."

Kiba frowned, but nodded. Naruto turned back to his team. Once he made sure everyone was ready, he barked out the all-too-familiar command, "Scatter!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke thinned his lips, dark eyes focused on the motionless form of his brother. His muscles were tensed and quivering, his jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists.<p>

Two weeks. Two _fucking _weeks of living in the same hideout as the bastard, and Sasuke was ready to kill someone. The Akatsuki, Voldemort and his followers, and Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto had the unfortunate pleasure of living together under the same roof.

He had been _so close _to that damned Itachi, sometimes they had even been in one room, and Sasuke couldn't lay a finger on him. But screw Orochimaru and his orders; Sasuke wasn't going to wait any longer for the chance to kill his brother.

Sasuke studied the man in front of them, trying to pinpoint any weaknesses, anything that could be used in his favour.

Nothing.

Uchiha Itachi looked… calm. Unruffled. Blank. He stared at Sasuke evenly, never breaking his gaze, and Sasuke hated it.

_Don't look down on me! _Sasuke wanted to shout. _I'm not that weak little boy anymore. I've grown stronger!_

The pair stood outside an abandoned warehouse. It was the only place big enough to hold a shinobi battle, and yet it was still too small. The collateral damage would probably be the rearrangement of the landscape, to put it mildly.

A quiet wind blew, ruffling Sasuke's hair and Itachi's cloak. The pitch-black cloak with the ruby clouds. Fingering his chokuto (sword), Sasuke's heart slowed as he prepared himself mentally for the task ahead, and his head lifted proudly. It was an unspoken agreement.

The atmosphere around them shifted. Power charged, chakra blazed, the very air fizzed with tension.

"Sharingan!"

Naruto cocked his head, staring at the sleeping form. Hinata lay on a large beam in the Great Hall's rafters. It was mid-afternoon, but Hinata had taken a night shift before and hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. Below them, students milled around their house tables, eating lunch and talking loudly. It was a wonder Hinata could even sleep through the noise.

The ANBU had decided to take refuge in the Great Hall, having disappeared from the Common Rooms of the Houses lest Umbridge caught them. Though not ideal, the rafters were adequate enough for impromptu meetings and sleeping quarters; the beams were very wide. A genjutsu cast by Sakura hid them nicely from view, and besides, Naruto liked the height.

Staring at Hinata for a few moments, Naruto ran lightly along the beam towards his backpack. Nine packs had been left there, and Naruto dug around in his own. Reaching into the bottom, he pulled out a white cloak. The white cloak was supposed to be worn by ANBU captains, but Naruto didn't like the colour and Tsunade hadn't allowed him to dye it orange.

"You're gonna get cold," Naruto murmured softly, draping the cloak around Hinata's body. It was a testament to her tiredness that Hinata didn't even stir; normally, if Naruto had done something like that, the Hyuuga would have woken up immediately. Naruto crouched there for a second, and, hesitantly, ran a gloved hand through Hinata's shining black hair. "Sleep well."

Straightening up, Naruto stretched, yawned, then, with one last look at Hinata, grinned and darted off.

* * *

><p>"Tch," Sasuke muttered. The two had engaged in a genjutsu fight, and while it barely tapped into his enormous reserve of chakra, Sasuke still felt worried. For someone like Itachi, he needed all the chakra he had.<p>

Lightening quick, Sasuke lunched eight shuriken at Itachi's direction. They whistled through the air; Sasuke's aim was flawless. Itachi didn't even bat an eyelid as he swatted them away with his own barrage of kunai. But Sasuke had used the shuriken as a distraction and now shot towards Itachi from his left side. His chokuto sang as it went directly for his brother's neck, but just as it was about to connect, Itachi vanished, only to reappear behind Sasuke with a kunai in his hand.

Sasuke twisted out of the way just as the kunai was about to stab into his back.

_"Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!" _Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

An enormous, flaming stream of fire streaked towards Itachi, leaving the air shimmering in its wake. Unsurprisingly, it did not reach him. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke did it once again.

_"Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!" _Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

But instead of aiming it at Itachi, Sasuke blew the fire towards the sky. The flames raced upwards where it dispersed into the atmosphere.

"That was useless, wasn't it?" a voice whispered. Sasuke whirled around, his blade swishing empty space where Itachi had been a second ago. Sasuke leapt back several steps, facing Itachi, whose cloak was smoking slightly at the edges. Other than that, he looked unharmed.

_"Chidori!" _

The cry of a thousand birds filled the air. Itachi did not even spare a glance at the jutsu.

* * *

><p><em>BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC<em>

_Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced  
>Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of<br>Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree  
>Number Twenty-eight.<em>

_Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic_

The notices had gone up all around the school overnight, but they did not explain how every single person within the castle seemed to know that Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, and the Minister for Magic and his Junior Assistant to escape. No matter where Harry went within the castle, the sole topic of conversation was Dumbledore's flight, and though some of the details may have gone awry in the retelling it was surprising how accurate the rest of their information was. The one thing that was uncertain was of the missing Hogwarts guards: the ninja.

Harry had not seen the shinobi since last night, which was strange in itself. Normally, the ninja were seen everywhere. There seemed to be a hundred of them at once. Harry didn't know what the shinobi were planning to do, now that Umbridge was headmistress. He supposed that would continue their mission, as Dumbledore had instructed, but he didn't know how. Well, they _were_ ninja, and ninja were masters of disguise.

"Honestly," Hermione mumbled to herself as she, Harry, and Ron walked up to the castle after Herbology. "You'd think that they would at least tell _us _what happened to them." 'They', meaning the shinobi.

Ron frowned. "Don't you think that–?"

_BOOM!_

Harry actually felt the floor trembled under his feet. The explosion had come from the Great Hall, and he heard screams and the sound of running water. Glancing at each other, the three of them hurried into the Entrance Hall where a crowd was already forming.

"What's happening?" Hermione breathed. Ron, being the tallest of them, craned his neck over the other students. Giving up, the trio pushed their way to the front – why was there _water _on the floor? – and Harry's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

To put it bluntly, the Great Hall had been flooded. The water was already seeping out into the Entrance Hall, and the students were starting to lift their robes up to avoid being drenched. The source came from the right hand side of the Great Hall, where there looked as though a bomb had been set off. There was a large, gaping hole where the wall was supposed to be, and a huge water pipe was squirting out water at high speed. Harry started laughing. He couldn't wait to see the look on Umbridge's face. Granted, she could probably fix it with magic, but still.

"It looks like it's been made with an exploding tag," Hermione whispered. Harry stared at her, and then at the wall.

"So, what? The ninja are behind this?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded and said, "Probably."

The water was already gushing past their ankles, and though Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were present, trying to restrain the crowd of students, neither of them seemed willing to stop the flow. On the contrary, both of them had faint smiles on their faces as they shooed everyone away.

* * *

><p><em>"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" <em>Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

The jutsu was shouted by both shinobi. On opposite ends of their makeshift battlefield, fire shot towards each other. The flames met in the middle, and neither one gained any advantage. The searing heat engulfed Sasuke, but he didn't notice. Both jutsu died out without doing anything to the opponent.

Itachi clasped his hands into seals that Sasuke recognised, and a thrill of horror – tinged with excitement – went through him.

_"Amaterasu!" _

The famous black flames – said to be as hot as the sun and burned anything in its path – surrounded Sasuke with a terrifying speed.

_Get out, get out, get out! _Sasuke thought urgently. His eyes darted everywhere, seeking an escape, seeking _anything_.

His Curse Seal activated. His skin turned grey, his eyes turned black and yellow, his hair lengthened, his lips turned blue.

And Sasuke knew what to do.

_"Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!" _Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

Once again, it was aimed towards the sky.

"You've used that technique three times already," Itachi said unsmilingly. "What are you hoping to accomplish?"

Sasuke felt himself smirking as the clouds began to darken. A storm was coming.

He saw Itachi's eyes widened as Sasuke began his hand seals. His brother glanced at the sky, then to Sasuke, and all the puzzle pieces clicked together.

_"Kirin!" _

The air sparked, lightening crackled. Then, with Sasuke's command, electricity flashed and flew towards the ground, exactly where Itachi stood.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru yawned lazily as he stuck onto the ceiling of Dolores Umbridge's office, but immediately straightened up when he saw Harry enter the room. His sharp black eyes zoomed in on Harry, and to his relief, the boy appeared to be fine. It would be very troublesome otherwise. He shook himself slightly to get rid of the throbbing that his body was deciding to give him and readied himself for eavesdropping.<p>

Umbridge, who had been scribbling busily onto a little scroll of pink parchment, looked up at Harry and said, in a very sweet voice, "Sit."

Harry sat. Shikamaru could feel all the blood rushing to his head, and sighed almost silently. He then walked over to where the ceiling met the wall, and decided to stick there instead. He hoped that Umbridge would hurry up and interrogate Harry. He was getting pretty tired.

"Well, now," said Umbridge finally, setting down her quill and surveying the boy complacently. "What would you like to drink?"

Shikamaru was completely unsurprised by the question. It was fairly obvious what she was about to do to the boy. He knew that the wizarding world had a handy little truth potion that was quite easy to get your hands on, if you happened to have a Potions Master. Harry, however, didn't seem to understand.

"What?" he said. His face was blank with surprise.

"To drink, Mr Potter," she said, smiling still more widely. "Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

As she named each drink, she gave her short wand a wave, and a cup or glass of it appeared on her desk.

"Nothing, thank you," said Harry. Shikamaru noticed a tiny pink vial on the table behind her desk, and guessed that it contained truth potion. Thinking that it was extremely troublesome, Shikamaru used some of his shadow jutsu and made words appear on the wall behind Umbridge, but facing Harry. It was kind of like shadow puppets, except the shadows moved themselves.

DON'T TRUST HER

The boy didn't notice the words at first, but then his eyes wandered, and then focused on them. They widened, and Harry discreetly glanced about the room, looking for the culprit ninja. When he found Shikamaru, he froze, and then quickly looked back at Umbridge, who was still talking.

Unfortunately, Umbridge was focused on his face and she caught the expression of shock. She glanced behind her, over to the corner where Shikamaru was previously. He had body-flickered away. Umbridge scanned the area suspiciously, and then turned back to Harry.

"I wish you to have a drink with me," she said, her voice becoming dangerously sweet. "Choose one."

Harry finally got what Umbridge was about to do and he made his choice quickly so he could get away faster.

"Fine… tea then," said Harry, shrugging.

She got up and made quite a performance of adding milk with her back to him. Shikamaru, who had gone back to his original place, watched carefully as Umbridge added the truth potion and then turned back to Harry.

_Just as I predicted,_ Shikamaru thought.

Umbridge then bustled around the desk with it, smiling in a sinisterly sweet fashion.

"There," she said, handing it to him. "Drink it before it gets colds, won't you? Well, now, Mr Potter… I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night."

The boy said nothing. She settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, "You're not drinking up!"

Harry hurriedly raised the cup to his lips and pressed his lips together, pretending to drink. Shikamaru sighed in relief, and continued watching the events unfold below him.

"Good," she whispered, "very good."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and thought,_ Could you get any more obvious than that? Now it's _so_ clear that you've done something to his drink, you evil hag._

"Now," Umbridge said. "Where is Albus Dumbledore?"

"No idea," said Harry promptly. Shikamaru's lips twitched in amusement.

"Drink up, drink up," she said, still smiling. "Now, Mr Potter, let us not play childish fames. I know that you know where he has gone. You and Dumbledore have been in this together from the beginning. Consider your position, Mr Potter…"

_Idiot,_ Shikamaru thought. _Idiot woman…_

"I don't know where he is," Harry repeated.

"Very well," said Umbridge, looking severely displeased. "Then kindly tell me the whereabouts of Sirius Black."

"I don't know," Harry said. Shikamaru heard faint sounds of shouting, and he wondered whether or not Neji was having fun forming an alliance with a certain pair of red-haired troublemakers. That had been Naruto's orders. He smirked.

"Very well, Potter, I will take your word for it this time, but be warned: the might of the Ministry stands behind me," Umbridge said dangerously. Shikamaru sighed.

_Yada, yada, yada, this woman never stops talking,_ Shikamaru thought.

"All channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. A Floo Network Regulator is keeping watch over every fire in Hogwarts – except my own, of course. My Inquisitorial Squad is opening and reading all owl post entering and leaving the castle. And Mr Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle. If I find a shred of evidence –"

_CRASH!_

_Ah, looks like the alliance worked out,_ Shikamaru thought.

The very floor of the office shook. Umbridge slipped sideways, clutching her desk for support, and looking shocked.

"What was –?"

As Umbridge ran out the door, dismissing Harry as she went, Shikamaru dropped down onto the ground again.

"Yo, Potter-san," Shikamaru said. Harry whirled back towards him.

"Nara!" Harry cried. "W-where _are_ all of you guys? Why are you suddenly appearing now?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Situation calls for it," he said. "You'll understand in a few days."

"I – what?" Harry said. Shikamaru clapped him on the shoulder.

"See you around, Potter-san," Shikamaru said. He disappeared before Harry could say another word, leaving behind only a cloud of smoke.

* * *

><p>Kiba spotted teacher coming and quickly dodged into a hiding place. He held his breath until the footsteps had faded away, and then sneaked out again. He wasn't supposed to be seen, after all.<p>

The boy quickly took to the walls, speeding along like a cat, glancing left, right and behind, trying to see if he could find the one he was looking for.

_There_, Kiba thought. He slowed down to stop, and then called out, "Peeves."

The poltergeist, who had been in the middle of upturning all the chalk boxes and writing a little poem on the blackboard (which was, needless to say, very rude), paused in his evildoings and turned around.

"Why, if it isn't the little outlaw Wolf," he cackled. He picked up a chalk box and flung it at the ninja, who side stepped it easily.

"Peeves," Kiba said in a low voice. Peeves stuck his tongue out at him.

"NINJA!" he bellowed. "NINJA IN THE CLASSROOM!"

"Peeves," Kiba said more firmly. "I need you to help us."

The somewhat ghost didn't register the words and continued zooming around the classroom. Kiba listened for any approaching footsteps, and when there were none, he rounded to the ghost.

"I need you to wreck as much havoc as possible," Kiba said. This caught the poltergeist's attention, and he stopped in his antics to listen.

"Ooooh~" Peeves sang. "Naughty little ninja, aren't you?"

Kiba ignored the muscles in his shoulder blades, which were stinging with pain, and tried to make his voice as persuading as possible.

"You must cause Umbridge Dolores as much trouble as you possibly can," Kiba said. Peeves' eyes sparkled with delight, and he zoomed up towards the ceiling.

"Righty-o," Peeves said manically. "Peeves shall do exactly as Mr Wolf says. Yaaaaheeeee~!"

When Peeves was gone, probably to wreak havoc, Kiba sighed in relief and dragged a hand down his forehead.

_Thank Kami that's over,_ Kiba thought. He heard approaching footsteps and quickly jumped up to the walls, _Time to get out of here._

The classroom was empty when the door was finally flung open, and the ominous shadow of Argus Filch loomed in.

* * *

><p>The deafening scream of fireworks filled the entire castle, that, coupled with the shrieking students and yelling teachers (it was mainly Umbridge, the other professors weren't really helping) made the noise almost unbearable.<p>

It seemed as though some people had decided to make Umbridge's first afternoon as headmistress as chaotic as possible. It was working.

Dragon fireworks comprised entirely of green and gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud, fiery blasts and bangs as they went; shocking-pink Catherine wheels five metres in diameter were whizzing lethally through the air like so many flying saucers; rockets with long tails of brilliant silver stars were ricocheting off the walls; sparklers were writing swear words in mid-air of their own accord; firecrackers were exploding like mines everywhere, and instead of burning themselves out, fading from sight or fizzling to halt, these pyrotechnical miracles seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum as more time passed.

That wasn't all, though. It seemed the missing ninja had added in their idea of fun. Along with the broken water pipe, someone had painted the walls of the Great Hall bright orange – it didn't take much to guess exactly who did that – and rude haiku poems about Umbridge were scrawled over the mess in bright green. The Great Hall and Entrance Hall was now completely flooded; the water rose up to the ankles and was now starting to slosh down the stone steps. The paint and broken water pipe seemed to be unfixable, though, and they stayed there until Umbridge and Filch could figure out what to do. Draped around the corridors were little banners with certain embarrassing facts about their new headmistress, and shredded white and coloured paper littered the hallways.

Laughing, Harry surveyed the damage with a huge grin and ducked down low, ran to a door he knew was concealed behind a tapestry a little way along the corridor and slipped through it to find Fred and George hiding behind it, listening to Umbridge and Filch's yells and quaking with suppressed mirth. Predictably, the twins were there, laughing as silently as they could.

"Impressive," Harry said quietly, grinning. "Very impressive… you'll put Dr Filibuster out of business, no problem…"

"Cheers," whispered George, wiping tears of hilarity from his face. "We teamed up with Uzumaki, and we've set pranks all over the school."

The fireworks continued to burn and spread all over the school that afternoon, and there was more than one case of accidental run-and-slips when people neared the Entrance and Great Hall. Though the fireworks caused plenty of disruption, particularly the firecrackers, the other teachers didn't seem to mind them very much.

Fred and George were heroes in the Gryffindor common room that night, and though the ninja were absent, there was a little banner strung up in their honour as well. The atmosphere was so bright and excited, that not even Hermione was doing any work.

When Harry and Ron went up to bed an hour later, and as he got undressed a sparkler floated past the tower, still resolutely spelling out the word 'POO'.

He got into bed, yawning, and slowly fell to sleep.

The whizzes and bangs of escaped fireworks in the grounds seemed to be growing more distant… or perhaps he was simply speeding away from them…

Harry had fallen right into the corridor leading to the Department of Mysteries. He was speeding towards the plain black door… _let it open… let it open…_

It did. He was inside the circular room lined with doors… he crossed it, placed his hand on an identical door and it swung inwards.

Now he was in a long, rectangular room full of an odd mechanical clicking. There were dancing flecks of light on the walls but he did not pause to investigate… he had to go on…there was a door at the far end… it, too, opened at his touch…

And now he was in a dimly lit room as high and wide as a church, full of nothing but rows and rows of towering shelves, each laden with small, dusty, spun-glass spheres… now Harry's heart was beating fast with excitement… he knew where to go… he ran forwards, but his footsteps made no noise in the enormous, deserted room…

He saw a slight figure shift in the darkness. A familiar robe. A robe that was pitch-black, the clouds the colour of blood stitched on it. Blue skin, sharp teeth, and small, cold eyes, glared at him. But that figure – that scary, unhuman figure – didn't seem to see Harry. A massive sword wrapped in bandages rested on the person's (if it was even a person) shoulder.

He wanted it…

There was something in this room he wanted very, very much… but the robed figure was in his way…

Something he wanted… or somebody else he wanted… but the robed figure was in his way…

His scar was hurting…

* * *

><p>Sasuke blinked rapidly to clear the spots dancing in his vision.<p>

_It must have hit him, _Sasuke thought. _Kirin is the fastest and strongest of the lightening jutsu. There's no way Itachi could have survived that…_

But when the smoke dissipated, a red glow alongside a bone-white skeleton told Sasuke otherwise.

Fuck it. Itachi had used Susanoo.

But his brother hadn't escaped unscathed. Behind his shield, Itachi's Akatsuki cloak had been burned away, scratches covered his body, and blood poured from his mouth. Sasuke knew that he didn't look much better.

Both of them were gasping for breath. Sasuke knew he was screwed. He had used the last of his chakra on Kirin. Itachi… well, he wasn't sure what Itachi was going to do. From the looks of it, Itachi had barely any chakra left as well.

But Sasuke was worse off. He could barely stand anymore.

Itachi staggered forwards, Susanoo shuddering above him. Sasuke couldn't move. He was too tired. Too exhausted.

_I'm going to die here, _Sasuke thought. This made his furious. But his anger did not help, not when he couldn't move.

Itachi was only a few metres away now and clutching a kunai; Susanoo had vanished.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, his voice cracked and weak. Every breath seemed to take effort. "I'm sorry. I couldn't take Orochimaru's essence out of your body. But I know you'll find a way. You're too strong to be controlled by him."

Sasuke tried to process the words through his fuzzy mind. Itachi was directly in front of him.

The kunai slipped from his grasp. Sasuke stared as Itachi's hands came up to his face.

_He's going to take my eyes, _Sasuke thought numbly. So when Itachi's bloody fingers knocked him gently on the forehead, shock made Sasuke unable to think.

The last time Itachi spoke, it was in Japanese, their native language. It made the goodbye somehow more intimate and emotional.

_"Yuruse, Sasuke…. Mata kondo da…" _Forgive me, Sasuke… Again, next time…

Itachi's hand slipped down Sasuke's face, leaving a red trail.

Uchiha Itachi slumped to the ground, and died with a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Harry realised with a sharp, uncomfortable jolt that he had Snape's Occlumency lesson later that evening, and he immediately spent the whole day dreading about what Snape was going to say if he found out how much further into the Department of Mysteries Harry had penetrated during his last dream.<p>

As he went off to Snape's office, however, he came face to face with Cho Chang, who beckoned to him, wanting to talk.

"Are you okay? Umbridge hasn't been asking you about the DA, has she?" Harry asked.

"Oh, no," said Cho hurriedly. "No, it was only… well, I just wanted to say… Harry, I never dreamed Marietta would tell…"

"Yeah, well," said Harry moodily. He did feel Cho might have chosen her friends a bit more carefully; it was a small consolation that the last he had heard, Marietta was still up in the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey had not been able to make the slightest improvement to her pimples.

"She's a lovely person, really," said Cho. "She just made a mistake –"

Harry looked at her incredulously.

"A lovely person who made a mistake? She sold us all out, including you!"

"Well… we all got away, didn't we?" said Cho pleadingly. "You know, her mum works for the Ministry, it's really difficult for her –"

"Ron's dad works for the Ministry too!" said Harry furiously. "And in case you haven't noticed, he hasn't got _sneak_ written across _his_ face –"

"That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger's," said Cho fiercely. "She should have told us she'd jinxed that list –"

"I think it was a brilliant idea," said Harry coldly. Cho flushed and her eyes grew brighter.

"Oh, yes, I forgot – of course, if it was darling _Hermione's_ idea –"

"Don't start crying again," said Harry warningly.

"I wasn't going to!" she shouted.

The two then proceeded to fire insults at each other, before they both turned their backs to each other and left in opposite directions.

Furious, Harry descended the stairs to Snape's dungeon, and entered. Quick shadows tailed him, and slipped inside before the door fully closed.

Snape stood before Harry at the ready, and they exchanged no greetings to each other. Harry stood in front of him, his wand raised, eyes glaring.

"On the count of three, then," said Snape lazily. "One – two –"

Snape's office door banged open and Draco Malfoy stepped in.

Wonderful.

"Professor Snape, sir – oh – sorry –"

Malfoy was looking at Snape and Harry with some surprise.

"It's all right, Draco," said Snape, lowering his wand. "Potter is here for remedial Potions."

Harry wondered what kind of 'remedial Potions' lesson would have the teacher and student standing, facing each other with their wands drawn and looking like they were going to kill, but he didn't say that out loud. Unfortunately, Harry had not seen Malfoy look so gleeful since Umbridge had turned up to inspect Hagrid.

"I didn't know," he said, leering at Harry. Harry fought back the urge to pound his annoying face in, and merely stared blankly at the two as Snape dismissed him, and the overgrown bat and egotistic rat headed out.

Harry was at the office door when he saw it: a patch of shivering light dancing on the doorframe. He stopped, and stood looking at it, reminded of something… then he remembered: it was a little like the lights he had seen in his dream last night, the lights in the second room he had walked through on his journey through the Department of Mysteries.

Turning around, he saw that the light was coming from the Pensieve sitting on Snape's desk. The silver-white contents were ebbing and swirling within. Snape's thoughts… things he did not want Harry to see if he broke through Snape's defences accidentally…

Harry walked closer to the Pensieve, and then checked for any approaching footsteps. He peered at the swirling memories within, and, on a spur-of-the-moment recklessness, he took a breath, and then plunged inside.

Two shadows leapt in after him.

* * *

><p>Sasuke stared dully at the unmoving body of his brother. For some strange reason, the world felt detached from him. His eyes slowly faded from being the brilliant colour of rubies, and back to a cold, merciless black. All of a sudden, it seemed as though he was holding up the weight of the sky, and he slumped down to the ground, his breath coming in heaving gasps.<p>

His brother was dead. Uchiha Itachi was dead. Sasuke had killed him. He had fulfilled his lifelong obsession.

So now what?

Sasuke didn't know.

* * *

><p><strong>I've got constructive criticism from different people, so obviously they're all different and speaking from various viewpoints. Unfortunately, they also sometimes contradict each other. So, if you're one of those constructive criticizers (I really love you guys) and you see no difference in this chapter or something, it does not mean I disregarded your tips. There will be two reasons keeping me from following your advice. One, another constructive reviewer told me otherwise, I became unsure of which one to follow, and finally tried to do both and ended up failing miserably. Or two, I just suck too much to follow your advice in the first place. But I try to believe that my writing improves on your tips. I've got to believe in something, right? ;P<strong>

**This chapter was a little… mm… not as good as I would have liked. But hey, I procrastinated on this story for two months, so hopefully for the next chapter I'll get back into the swing of things. There's some Hinata and Naruto fluff for you, and I'm also really sorry about Sasuke's and Itachi's battle. I'm not used to writing Uchiha, so therefore I'm not used to their jutsu or the Sharingan. You're actually quite lucky their fight was as long as it is; in the original, it was only short snippets with about three sentences every time.**

**Orochimaru did not appear from Sasuke's Curse Seal because he is not dead. Yet.**

**Ooooh, before I go, I have a question! Or, well, it's sort of a poll. **

**I have watched and or read:**

**a) Code Geass **

**b) Code:Breaker**

**c) Both**

**d) Neither**

**This anime (Code Geass) and manga (Code:Breaker) have been the two culprits who took away my holiday and writing time. As for the poll, I'm only wondering. Actually, I have an ulterior motive, but I'll just wait for the results to see. Please vote!**

**And… hey! I just realised that they're displaying the number of Favourites and Alerts a story has down in the information list on the bottom of a story. You know… the grey part? That's so weird….**

_**An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and the requiem of fury for evil.**_

**Updated: 15 July 2012**


	29. Shadows

**Thank you to the reviewers: Mon Esprit Libre, Guest, xXSolaine-GirlXx, AnAncientBard, Kyuubi No Tenshi, TheNSIGirl, NyxLilium, Hodgeheg, moonlightrurouni, Flower in the River, MadDogMatt13, nightliliesu, AcanthaEdens, Masked Bard of Chaos, Ichigo Mirai, shadowangel9999, xXx Feathered xXx, JuiceBoxPenguin, XxXAkumaNoTenshiXxX, Guest, The Masked Idiot, Nerd4ever243, monkeygirl123, Guest, Metoochocolate, Soaha, Guest, LadyOfTheAnimals, Tenshi and Akuma, CalcBoy91, Guest, RedRangerBelt, Guest, Guest, Naruto forever, SpiritWolf284, Veronyka18, Guest, pucflek, SiriusBalisticPretzels, Bloody-Rozez, Seiren Cross, Miko Potter, Soccergrl, Rasengan 918, NamiNavigator, Kickilia, BewareTheIdeasOfMarch, and sheep-a-rama.**

**I got a lot of 'Guest' reviewers XD**

**Thank you for those who answered the poll in the last chapter. Just to make things clear: No, it is not a three-way crossover. It was just something I was curious about (and hey, I was pleasantly surprised to find another person who liked **_**Code:Breaker **_**as much as me :D).**

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Shadow**

* * *

><p><em>Whump!<em>

The dizzying darkness was gone, and Harry jerked, his eyes flapping open, to find himself standing in the middle of the Great Hall.

Wait, what?

Harry stared at his surroundings, trying to take in whatever situation he had landed himself in. It _was _the Great Hall, but the four house tables were gone, replaced with smaller desks, all facing the same which, at each of which sat a student, head down and scribbling furiously over ridiculously long pages of parchment. It was completely silent.

Though Harry wasn't sure how, he knew that there was something wrong with this place: time. The time was _wrong_, somehow. As if it was all in the past; everything had an odd bronze glow.

"Wow," commented a voice on his left. Harry yelped loudly and jumped a metre into the air. None of the students looked up. He whirled around and came face to face with the newcomer. Or rather, newcomer_s_.

"Naruto," Harry said, his mouth gaping open. "Nara."

Naruto and Shikamaru were indeed there. The blonde was peering around expertly, his mouth stretching into an excited grin. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was slouching and looking thoroughly bored.

"Yo, Potter-san," Shikamaru grumbled. "Why do you hafta poke your nose into other people's business?"

"Um…" Harry said, still trying to get over the shock of seeing two of his missing guards. "I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Shikamaru reminded him with a yawn. Naruto made a face.

"I thought it was: Stupidity killed the cat. Curiosity was framed," Naruto said.

"Of course you would get the modern version," Shikamaru said under his breath. "But that's not the point. The point is: How do we get out of here?"

"Uh…"

"… You don't know?"

Harry shook his head. Shikamaru huffed.

"Well then, where are we?"

"We're in Snape's memories."

It was Shikamaru's turn to make a face while Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Memories are private things," Naruto said, scratching his cheek. "We should get out of here."

"So, what are you guys doing here anyway?" Harry asked, trying to dodge the question.

"We may be gone from sight, but that doesn't mean we're not watching you," Naruto said, bending over a student's work as she scrawled messily away. "You're still our charge. Our mission is still intact."

"So you followed me," Harry accused.

"Don't we always?" Shikamaru asked with a bemused smile.

"True…"

While Harry got excited after spotting his father, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and (perhaps not so excitedly) Peter Pettigrew, Shikamaru perked up and nudged Naruto.

"I've just got word," Shikamaru said, shaking out the soreness in his joints, "that Uchiha Itachi is dead."

Naruto blinked. "WHAT?!"

Harry glanced over at Naruto's outburst, and his brow furrowed as he saw Naruto's face. Shikamaru sighed and muttered, "Troublesome."

"How?" Naruto demanded.

"How else?" Shikamaru said. "Sasuke killed him. He arrived in the wizarding world a few weeks ago."

Naruto fell silent and he gritted his teeth. "Damn. The _teme_ has gotten even stronger, hasn't he." It was a statement, not a question. Still, Shikamaru nodded.

"Who's Sasuke?" Harry asked. "Who's Itachi?"

"Some old friends," Naruto said darkly. His expression then cleared, and he said, "Your father's moving."

Naruto knew that James Potter was Harry's father, and he found him easily, purely because Harry and James looked so alike.

"Ha, look at Black-san," Naruto crowed. He flipped and landed near Sirius and started to stare at his face. "Hm, he was pretty good looking, but not as good as me!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"… got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail," Naruto heard the one called Peter said anxiously. Harry liked to call him Wormtail, "but I couldn't think what else–"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run round with a werewolf once a month–"

"Keep your voice down," implored Lupin. James and his three friends strode off down the lawn towards the lake, Snape followed, still poring over the exam paper and apparently with no fixed idea of where he was going. Naruto and Shikamaru was examining Snape's memories, searching for tiny little details.

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," Naruto heard Sirius say. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a struggling Golden Snitch. Naruto blanched when he saw the Snitch, which reminded him of his painful ride on a broomstick. Shikamaru turned away as his lips pulled him into a smirk at the sight of Naruto's expression.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Nicked it," James said casually.

They stopped in the shade of a tree by the lake, and threw themselves onto the grass. Harry, Naruto and Shikamaru stopped behind them, and Naruto saw that Snape had settled himself near the group.

Lupin had pulled out a book and started reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom further and further away, almost escaping, but grabbing it at the last second.

"He has good reflexes," Naruto commented.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said, as a way of replying.

"Put that away, will you?" said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail, who had been watching him, let out a cheer, "before Wormtail wets himself in excitement."

"If it bothers you," James grinned, stuffing the Snitch back into his pocket.

"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is…"

Sirius' head turned. He became very still, like a dog that had scented a rabbit.

"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."

Naruto had started to frown. He was starting to pick up on this pattern of behaviour, mostly because it had been directed at him many times before. A bully's behaviour.

Naruto knew where Sirius was looking without even having to turn his head. Snape was getting on his feet again, and was stowing the OWL paper in his bag. As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up.

Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly. Shikamaru sighed and dragged a hand down his face.

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"

Snape's wand flew a few metres into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

Naruto watched the scene unfold stonily, his eyes moving from the defenceless figure of Snape, and then towards the gleeful faces of Sirius and James. They then flickered around to study the expressions of the bystanders, and his lips pressed together.

A flash of red caught his eyes, and Naruto found himself staring at Harry's mother. For an unknown reason, a lump suddenly formed in Naruto's throat, and his hands quivered as he watched Lily Evans shouting at James Potter.

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked quietly. Naruto nodded and turned away. Shikamaru looked at his friend sympathetically. "She looks like her, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled.

"What's he done to you?" Lily shouted. James shrugged.

"It's more the fact he _exists_, if you know what I mean."

Hearing those words, coupled with the expression on James' face; the uncaring, callous eyes, made unbidden memories come to the surface.

_It's more the fact he exists…_

Those were such cold words.

Snape was now hanging upside down, and a furious expression contorted James' face.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

But whether James really did take off Snape's pants, Naruto, Shikamaru and Harry never found out. A hand closed tight over Naruto's upper arm, and Naruto grabbed Shikamaru as he felt himself rising up into the air.

Naruto stumbled onto the cold stone floor the dungeon and the fully-grown Snape himself was standing beside the Pensieve.

"So," Snape said, glaring at all of them, but especially Harry. He was gripping the boy's arm tightly. "_So_… been enjoying yourself?"

"N-no," Harry said, trying to free himself. Shikamaru stepped forward and placed his hand on Snape's arm.

"Let the boy go," Shikamaru said quietly. "You're hurting him."

Snape's lips were shaking, his face was white, and his teeth were bared.

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?" said Snape, shaking Harry so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose.

"Snape-san," Shikamaru warned.

"I–didn't–"

Snape threw Harry from him with all his might. Harry would have landed on the hard on the dungeon floor if Naruto hadn't stepped in and caught him.

"You will not repeat what you saw to anybody!" Snape bellowed. He completely ignored the ninja; his black eyes were only fixed on Harry, perhaps because he looked so much like his childhood tormentor.

"No," said Harry. "No, of course I w–"

"Get out, get out, I don't want to see you in this office ever again!"

Shikamaru nudged him, and the he and Harry swept quickly towards the door. A jar of cockroaches exploded over Shikamaru's head. The door was wrenched open and they both stopped only when there were three floors between themselves and Snape.

Back at the office, Snape had smashed another jar and was now gripping the edge of his desk, his face white with hatred.

"Our deepest apologies, Snape-san," Naruto said softly, bowing to him. "We had no right to see them. You have our word that nothing of this will be spoken of to outsiders."

He flashed away.

* * *

><p>"Don't leave," Harry managed to croak out. He knew that the ninja weren't supposed to be seen, and weren't supposed to be in the castle, yet he selfishly wanted some company. He needed someone with him.<p>

"We're not going anywhere," Shikamaru said gently. The three of them were sitting in front of the lake. It was dark, the moon was bright, and Harry wasn't supposed to be outside, but right then, he didn't care.

Harry felt so miserable. He had been so sure his parents were wonderful people that he had never had the slightest difficulty in disbelieving the aspersions Snape cast on his father's character. Hadn't people like Hagrid and Sirius _told_ Harry how wonderful his father had been? Yes, he had once overheard Professor McGonagall saying that his father and Sirius had been troublemakers at school, but she had described them as forerunners of the Weasley twins, and Harry could not imagine Fred and George dangling someone upside-down for the fun of it… not unless they really loathed them… perhaps Malfoy, or somebody who really deserved it…

Harry tried to make a case for Snape having deserved what he had suffered at James' hands, but hadn't Lily asked, "What's he done to you?" And hadn't James replied, "It's more the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean." Hadn't James started it all simply because Sirius said he was bored? Harry remembered Lupin saying back in Grimmauld Place that Dumbledore had made him prefect in the hope that he would be able to exercise some control over James and Sirius… but in the Pensieve, he had sat there and let it all happen…

Harry kept reminding himself that Lily had intervened; his mother had been decent. Yet, the memory of the look on her face as she had shouted at James disturbed him quite as much as anything else; she had clearly loathed James, and Harry simply could not understand how they had ended up married.

For nearly five years the thought of his father had been a source of comfort, of inspiration. Whenever someone had told him he was like James, he had glowed with pride inside. And now… now he felt cold and miserable at the thought of him.

Did he want to be like his father anymore?

"Harry," Naruto said kindly. "I've never told you about my father, have I?"

"No," Harry mumbled. "You shinobi don't tell us anything about yourself."

"For good reason, too," Shikamaru said.

"Harry, you know my father was an idiot as well?" Naruto said. Harry glanced up at the blonde. There was a wistful, faraway look to his face.

"Did he ever hang someone upside-down just for the fun of it?" Harry asked bitterly.

"No," Naruto admitted, "but he… gave me something that made my life miserable. He was the one who sealed the Kyuubi into me."

"Children of the tailed beasts live harsh lives," Shikamaru said. His voice sounded like the wind. "They are outcasts in their own village. They are sneered and scorned at. Villagers refuse to do business with Jinchuriki. Jinchuriki have rocks thrown at them, they get kicked out of restaurants, and no child their age will play with them. To be a Jinchuriki is to live a cold, lonely life. I'm sure you know how that feels..."

Yes, Harry did know. He knew all too well.

"But," Naruto continued, "I managed to meet my father for the first, and probably last time as I am now. My parents are both dead, you see, but this was like a mirage of him; a memory. When I talked to him, I realised that it doesn't matter what stupid things he did during his life. He was my dad, and he loved me. He trusted me with the Kyuubi, and had faith that I could handle it."

"But, that's _your_ father," Harry said. "Your parents loved each other. I'm sitting here worried that my dad even forced my mother to marry him…"

Naruto laughed. "My parents hated each other when they were little."

Harry looked at him again, his hope rising.

"My parents both decided they wanted to be Hokage, our village leader. They were both competitive, and they both fought over that title. Eventually, they fell in love," Naruto grinned. Harry managed a small smile as well. "Opposites attract, I suppose you can say."

"When we were in the memory," Harry recalled. "When you saw my mother, you went a little weird. Why?"

"Looking at Lily Evans was like looking at my own mother," Naruto said, his face turned towards the lake. "They are very similar, you know. Both our parents."

"Why?"

"Well, both our mother and father were rivals. They both hated each other at first. Lily Evans and Uzumaki Kushina both had hair the colour of fire, and…" Naruto trailed off. Harry stared at him, and Naruto continued, "Both our parents died protecting their sons."

There was silence, and the only sound was the gently ripple of water from the lake and the whooshing of the wind.

"Be proud of who you are," Naruto said. "Don't worry; I know your father isn't as bad as he looked in that memory."

"You know," Shikamaru muttered, his face turned to the moon, "that the only thing a parent needs to do is trust in their children. That's all… and that in itself has true value (1)."

A cool breeze swept through Harry's hair. Harry knew the true meaning, the weight of those words.

"I'm not going to be a parent anytime soon," Harry said, laughing nervously. His face was a little red, and for some reason, his mind flashed to Ginny. "But I'll keep that in mind."

"Be sure that you do, Harry," Shikamaru said.

"I will. Thanks, Shikamaru," Harry smiled, "thanks, Naruto."

* * *

><p>"But why haven't you got Occlumency lessons anymore?" said Hermione, frowning.<p>

"I've _told_ you," Harry muttered. "Snape reckons I can carry on by myself now I've got the basics."

"So you've stopped having funny dreams?" said Hermione sceptically.

"Pretty much," said Harry, not looking at her.

"Well, I don't think Snape should stop until you're absolutely sure you can control them!" said Hermione indignantly. "Harry, I think you should go back to him and ask–"

"No," said Harry forcefully. "Just drop it, Hermione, okay?"

In truth, Harry had been planning to pay Sirius a visit, how, he didn't know, but after his talk with Naruto and Shikamaru, Harry felt a little more peaceful. He had written a carefully coded letter to Sirius, who had replied, and the reply instantly made Harry feel better about his parents.

Naruto had also told him that the ninja were still in the castle, but they were hidden.

"Look out for some hints," Naruto had said. "We're always there." And then he had disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Quote from the Fourth Kazekage. I'm pretty sure our little Namikaze Minato says it as well, but I can't seem to find it…<strong>

**There you go. Shikamaru and Harry have started calling each other by their first names. **


	30. OWLs

**okay, so i've been sitting on this decision for a long time. as some of you know, i've actually finished this story, but i stopped because i legit hated it. i still do, but i want to tie up loose ends. there's only five chapters left, so i'll just post them up for my peace of mind, and i'm sure you readers who liked it probably want to know what happened at the end right?**

**so i'll post up the remaining chapters, exactly as i wrote them two years ago. they are in no way a reflection of my writing right now (my style as changed a lot). i suppose... enjoy?**

**Chapter Thirty: OWLs**

* * *

><p>"Boo-yah," Kiba said, staring down at the large scene. "The Weasley twins have really gone all out, haven't they?"<p>

"Hn," said Gaara.

The two ninja were hanging upside down from the ceiling of the Entrance Hall, where it seemed as though the whole school had assembled there. Standing in the middle of the huge circle were Fred and George, smirking their heads off, and Umbridge.

Some of the students were covered in Stinksap, teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominent among the onlookers were members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves, who was bobbing overhead, gazed down at Fred and George.

"So!" said Umbridge triumphantly. She was standing on a staircase, once more looking down upon her prey. "So – you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, looking up at her without the slightest sign of fear. George glanced up quickly and caught Kiba's eye, and he winked before turning back to Umbridge.

Filch elbowed his way closer to Umbridge, almost crying with happiness.

"I've got the form, headmistress," he said hoarsely, waving a piece of parchment. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting… Oh, let me do it now…"

"He sounds like a paedophile," Kiba muttered. Gaara gave him a weird look.

"How so?"

"The way he said 'Oh, let me do it now,'" Kiba sniggered. "He sounds like some horny sadist."

Sand swirled and Kiba almost fell off the ceiling after that comment.

"Very good, Argus," she said. "You two," she went on, gazing at Fred and George, "are about to learn what happens to wrong-doers in my school."

"You know what?" said Fred. "I don't think we are."

He turned to his twin.

"George," said Fred, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," said George lightly. Unbeknownst to the crowd (apart from the twins themselves), sand began to creep silently across the floor behind them.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" asked Fred.

"Definitely," said George.

And before Umbridge could say another word, they raised their wands and said together:

"_Accio brooms!_"

Kiba heard a loud crash somewhere in the distance. Students shrieked and ducked as Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg with which Umbridge had fastened them to the wall, were hurtling along the corridor to their owners; they turned left, streaked down the stairs and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred told Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," said George, mounting his own.

Fred looked around at the assembled students, at the silent, watchful crowd.

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley – Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," he said in a loud voice. "Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," added George, pointing at Umbridge.

"STOP THEM!" shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off, and a glittering wave of sand crashed over the crowd, effectively burying the onlookers. Fred and George hovered a few metres into the air, and spotted Peeves.

"Ninja, Peeves," he shouted. "Give her hell from us."

And Peeves, who Kiba had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled to tumultuous applause from the half-buried students in sand below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset.

"Hell, eh?" Kiba chuckled.

"We're good at that," Gaara said with a wry smile.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, Hogwarts was in chaos, with students running around with bleeding noses, vomiting in classes and fainting in the corridors, while Filch prowled the castle with a horsewhip ready in his hands, desperate to catch miscreants, but there were too many for him to really get anyone. The Inquisitorial Squad attempted to help him, but odd things kept happening to its members. Pansy Parkinson missed all her lessons the following day because she had sprouted antlers. Malfoy had been the victim of a curse that made his skin look like cornflakes. One time, a couple of students heard a yell of "A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" and a huge shout. A second later, Warrington of the Slytherin Quidditch team had run full-pelt towards the hospital wing, waddling like a duck.<p>

Peeves had been even worse. Cackling loudly, he soared through the school, upending tables, bursting out of blackboards, toppling statues and cases; twice he shut Mrs Norris inside a suit of armour from which she was rescued, yowling loudly, by the furious caretaker. He smashed lanterns and snuffed out candles; juggled burning torches over the heads of screaming students, caused neatly stacked piles of parchment to topple into fire or out of windows. Flooded the second floor when he pulled off all the taps in the bathrooms, dropped a bag of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast (Kiba witnessed Ron shriek like a girl, and almost pissed his pants laughing) and whenever he fancied a break, spent hours at a time floating along after Umbridge and blowing loud raspberries every time she spoke.

The ninja had once again added in their bit of craze. The third floor had been turned into a desert, with students wading across the sand to get to classes. Giant holes had been made in walls and classrooms, and the shapes looked suspiciously like Kiba's '_Gatsuga'_. Tremors were frequent within the castle, as cracks and craters appeared quite randomly in the middle of nowhere. One time, a large herd of deer had wandered into the castle and caused pandemonium when two of the males decided to fight for dominance in the Entrance Hall. It looked kind of unnatural, especially with a certain lazy ninja lying on a deer's back, whispering instructions into its ear.

Finally, Umbridge, who couldn't do anything about Peeves or the students' strange illnesses, decided to take her anger out on the ninja.

It was lunchtime, and Peeves had just finished sprinkling salt and pepper onto the heads of students when in marched about ten Aurors from the Ministry, with Umbridge at the lead.

The chattering students in the Great Hall stopped talking and stared, while Umbridge glared around with a kind of savage pleasure.

"The ninja are in this castle," she announced loudly, "and I want you all to find them, capture them and bring them to me."

The Aurors dispersed quickly, and several minutes passed.

"What?" Harry whispered anxiously. "What if the ninja get caught?"

"They'll be fine," Hermione whispered back, though she still looked worried.

"I think you guys are being paranoid," Ron said, his mouth filled with bread. He swallowed with difficulty and continued. "They're ninja; they're masters at this stuff. They won't get caught."

Straight after he said that, there was a muffled yell, and Naruto and Neji, their arms twisted painfully behind their backs, were frogmarched into the Hall.

"So quickly?" Harry said blankly. "That can't be right."

Beside him, Hermione started smiling. Harry saw that, and he asked, "Why do you look so happy?"

Hermione shushed him, and told him to watch. The students mumbled, the noise sounding like a hive of angry bees.

"You were no match for my best Aurors," Umbridge said, smiling down at the two male ninja.

"Old hag," Naruto said, as a way of greeting. Neji rolled his eyes and said, "Tch."

"You and your friends will be going to Azkaban for various reasons, one of them for assisting the escape of fugitives Fred and George Weasley," said Umbridge. "There are more serious reasons, of course, but you'll hear them in your trial."

"You know," Naruto declared, "you face is even uglier close up."

The students laughed, and Umbridge's face went scarlet.

"Naruto," Neji said, "shut up."

"Don't tell me what to do, Hyuuga," Naruto said irritably. Neji's eyes flashed.

"Stop talking big, idiot," Neji snapped back. "It's your fault that we're caught."

"My fault?" Naruto said incredulously. "What do you mean _my_ fault?"

"I told you people were coming, I told you to hide," Neji hissed. "But did you listen to me? Nooo. You had to be the clueless dolt everyone says you are and pretty much announce to the whole world where we were."

"What?" Naruto cried, outraged. "Who's the one who said 'Let's check it out'? You! That's who."

"When I said that, I meant _secretly_," Neji snarled. "I honestly have no idea _how_ you got to be ANBU captain."

"Alright, that's it," Naruto said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You're going down, Hyuuga scum."

The students, who had previously been silent as they watched the argument, quickly scrambled out of the way as Naruto and Neji shook off their captors and faced each other, both of them glaring at each other.

"Leave them," Umbridge told her Aurors, her eyes glinting with delight.

"No," Harry whispered. "No, no, no."

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The ninja? Fighting each other? That was wrong. As wrong as Ron suddenly deciding that he loved spiders. Hermione was still grinning like mad beside him, but he didn't notice.

A swirling ball of chakra appeared in Naruto's hand, and Neji got into a fighting stance. With a yell from Naruto, the two of them charged at one another. Everyone gasped, but at the last second, Naruto and Neji veered off course, and they turned their jutsu onto the Aurors beside them.

"Ha!" Naruto shouted, dispelling his Rasengan and slamming his naked fist into the stomach of an Auror. "Eat that, you freak!"

Neji wasn't so vocal in his attack, but nevertheless, he managed to take down five Aurors, while Naruto took care of the others.

Umbridge was shocked and scandalized as Naruto and Neji defeated her 'guards', and then turned to her.

"Can we kill her?" Neji asked. It was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes.

"As if," he scoffed. "Dumbledore-san will get mad." He turned towards the cowering students and smirked.

"For the record," Naruto said cheerfully, "Neji and I weren't going to kill each other." He slung an arm around the Hyuuga like they were the best of buddies, which Neji promptly shook it off, annoyed. The two of them then quickly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So… they were joking?" Ron blinked. Hermione nodded.

"Of course," Hermione said. "You said so yourself, Ron. They're masters at stuff like this. They can't get caught by Aurors that easily; and why on earth would they turn on each other? It was all an act."

Realising this, Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. "I thought it was real," he mumbled. Hermione nodded briskly.

"So did everyone else in the Hall," she said. She picked up her bag, pulling Harry and Ron along with her. "Come on, we've got Transfiguration."

They passed a shell-shocked Umbridge, who was a little slow in gathering her wits.

* * *

><p>With just under a month to go until the exams and every free moment devoted to revision, Harry's mind seemed so saturated with information when he went to bed he found it very difficult to get to sleep at all; and when he did, his over-wrought brain presented him most nights with stupid dreams about the exams. He also suspected that part of his mind – the part that often spoke with Hermione's voice – now felt guilty on the occasions it strayed down that corridor ending in the black door, and sought to wake him before he could reach the journey's end.<p>

The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw, was to take place on the last weekend of May. Although Slytherin had been narrowly defeated by Hufflepuff in their last match, Gryffindor were not daring to hope for victory, due mainly (though of course no one said it to him) to Ron's abysmal goal-keeping record. He, however, seemed to have found a new optimism.

"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" he told Harry and Hermione grimly over breakfast on the morning of the match. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"

"You know," said Hermione, as she and Harry walked down to the pitch a little later in the midst of a very excitable crowd, "I think Ron might do better without Fred and George around. They never exactly gave him confidence."

"Good morning, Granger-san, Potter-san," said a soft, sweet voice. Hermione blinked and looked around. There was a small little Gryffindor girl walking beside them. Though she didn't look like anyone they knew, her voice was familiar.

"Hyuuga," Harry said in amazement. "Is that you?"

"Yes," said Hinata. She had henged into a blonde haired, brown eyed third year. "It's me."

"Hinata?" Hermione said hesitantly, "Wait… can I call you Hinata?"

"Of course," said Hinata.

"How are the others?" Hermione asked. By 'others' she meant the rest of the ninja. Hinata chuckled quietly.

"They're bored," she said. "They want to go out and about like before, but Umbridge is being a little… problematic."

"Isn't she always?" Harry muttered. The three of them found seats next to each other, and they began to watch.

"You know," Hinata commented as her eyes followed the tiny figure of Ron at the end of the goalposts. "Ron is really a very good Keeper."

Both Hermione and Harry stared at her.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said. Hinata continued watching Ron.

"He doesn't have any confidence in himself," Hinata said. "He reminds me of me."

"Why?"

Hinata shrugged. "When I was little, I was probably the shyest girl in the village. I stuttered when I talked, I wasn't good at anything, and even my father gave up on me. I didn't have any confidence at all. But thanks to my friends, I slowly began to come out of my shell, and I even managed to make ANBU." She glanced at Harry and Hermione. "Support Ron as best as you can."

"Since when have you started calling him Ron?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"He and I talk sometimes," Hinata said. "He insisted I call him Ron. He said 'Weasley-san' makes him sound weird, and it makes me sound like a teacher."

Harry snickered, while Hermione pursed her lips. Perhaps Harry was imagining it, but he thought Hermione looked a little jealous.

"Don't worry, Granger-san," Hinata said, staring at the tiny figure of Gryffindor's Keeper. "I already have a boyfriend. I'm not going to steal Ron from you."

Hermione's face resembled a tomato. "I didn't – I wasn't – I don't – Ron's not –"

Hinata giggled. "Whatever you say, Granger-san."

_"Weasley cannot save a thing_

_He cannot block a single ring…"_

"Harry," said a hoarse voice. "Hermione…"

Harry looked round and saw Hagrid's enormous bearded face sticked between the seats. Apparently, he had squeezed his way all along the row behind, for the first and second years he had just passed had a ruffled, flattened look about them. For some reason, Hagrid was bent double as though anxious not to be seen.

"Listen," he whispered, "can yeh come with me? Now? While ev'yone's watchin' the match?"

"Er… can't it wait, Hagrid?" asked Harry. "Till the match is over?"

"No," said Hagrid. "No, Harry, it's gotta be now… while ev'yone's lookin' the other way… please?"

Hagrid's nose was gently dripping blood. His eyes were both blackened. Harry had not seen him this close-up since his return to the school; he looked utterly woebegone.

"Hagrid-san?" Hinata said. Hagrid glanced at Hinata and managed a smile.

"Hello, Hinata," he said. He seemed genuinely pleased to see the girl, and apparently he had seen her in this form before. "You can come as well."

"Alright," Harry said, "we'll come."

The three of them edged along their row of seats, causing much grumbling among the students who had to stand up for them. The people in Hagrid's row were not complaining, merely attempting to make themselves as small as possible.

"I 'ppreciate this, you two, I really do," said Hagrid as they reached the stairs, "and Hinata, of course." He kept looking around nervously as they descended towards the lawn below. "I jus' hope she doesn' notice us goin'."

"You mean Umbridge?" said Harry. "She won't, she's got her whole Inquisitorial Squad sitting with her, didn't you see? She must be expecting trouble."

"Yeah, well, a bit o' trouble wouldn' hurt," said Hagrid. "Give us more time."

"Don't worry," Hinata said. "If we need a distraction, Naruto-kun and the others will do something." She touched the radio at her throat, which was buried under her collar.

"What is it, Hagrid?" said Hermione, looking up at him with a concerned expression on her face as they hurried across the grass towards the edge of the Forest.

"Hagrid-san, I told you not to overstay your visits with him," Hinata scolded, glancing at his many injuries. "His kind can only spend so much time with a human."

"What's she talking about?" Harry asked. "What do you mean 'his kind'?"

"Hinata's been helping me with him," Hagrid said, picking up a crossbow and striding towards the Forest. "He seems to like her."

"Who's 'he'?" Harry asked.

The path the four were hurrying on began to become increasingly overgrown and the trees grew so closely together as they walked further and further into the Forest that it was as dark as dusk. They stumbled, or rather, Hagrid, Harry and Hermione stumbled while Hinata ghosted over the roots, through the Forest, until Hagrid stopped at a clearing.

It was then and there that Harry and Hermione saw a giant for the first time.

* * *

><p>"You handled it quite well back in the Forest," Hinata said lightly, "Granted, you did panic a bit –" Harry snorted at that "– but all in all, well done, Hermione."<p>

Hermione and Harry had started calling Hinata by her first name, and vice versa, when Hinata had saved the two of them from being grabbed by Grawp.

"A giant," Hermione whispered weakly, "honestly, a giant."

"How long have you known he was there?" Harry asked. Hinata shrugged.

"A long time, actually," she said, "about half a year ago, when Neji-nii-san and I were scouting the Forest."

Her eyes flickered up, and she got to her foot. "I better go. Naruto-kun told me to get to guard duty around about now, and I think Ron wants to talk to you… probably about the Quidditch match and his splendid performance."

Hinata turned and walked away from the tree that Harry and Hermione were resting under.

* * *

><p>The castle grounds were gleaming in the sunlight as though freshly painted; the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake; the satin green lawns rippled occasionally in a gentle breeze. June had arrived, but to the fifth-years this meant only one thing: their OWLs were upon them at last.<p>

Their teachers were no longer setting them homework; lessons were devoted to revising those topics the teachers thought most likely to come up in the exams. The purposeful, feverish atmosphere drove nearly everything but the OWLs from Harry's mind, though in between classes, random students coming in the opposite direction liked to wink at him, wave at him, smile at him, or attempt to trip him (Harry wasn't sure whether they were real Slytherins or Kiba in disguise), a sure sign that it was a ninja in hiding.

It was a tense, quiet and near-hysterical day on the morning of their first exam: Theory of Charms. Dinner was a subdued affair that night, but it quickly became loud when a group of aged wizards and witches came along.

"Oh, my goodness," Hermione said faintly, staring into the Entrance Hall. "Is that them? Is that the examiners?"

While the fifth and seventh year students panicked, Ino received a call from Naruto, telling her to meet him in an empty classroom.

"Naruto?" Ino said, slipping in silently. The rest of her comrades were here. "What's going on?"

"I think…" Naruto said slowly, "the Akatsuki and Voldemort are assembling for battle."

"Where did you get that from?" Kiba called out. Akamaru whined, voicing his question. Naruto's brow furrowed.

"They have been quiet for the past month or so. There have been nothing strange going on, this must mean they're preparing for something," Naruto said.

"What do you want us to do?" Gaara asked. "It's hard enough, with Umbridge telling her Inquisitorial Squad members to jinx/curse us on sight. We can't even guard the castle and Potter-san out in the open anymore."

Naruto waved his hand impatiently. "Something big is going to happen. I can feel it. Something's going to happen to Harry."

"Sh," Sakura said suddenly, her face tense. "Can you hear something?"

Her friends shook their heads, and Sakura frowned. "Must be nothing."

Naruto dragged a hand down his face. "Go back to whatever you were doing before. You're all dismissed."

* * *

><p>None of the fifth years slept much that night, and they didn't eat much either in the morning. They were all twitchy and at the edge of panic. After the two hour Charms exam, came the practical examination. As Harry walked into the Hall to do his exam, he saw a random fourth year student grin cheerily at him, and Harry was suddenly filled with newfound determination.<p>

The next morning was a written paper, and directly after that was a Transfiguration practical exam. On Wednesday was the Herbology test, and then Defence Against the Dark Arts. This was the one exam Harry felt that he had achieved 'Outstanding' on. Then came the weekend, where Ron and Harry simply relaxed and slept while Hermione revised. On Monday was the Potions practical, which was not as dreadful as Harry had expected.

With four more exams left, the fifth years studied vigorously. Harry performed well in Care of Magical Creatures (mainly for Hagrid's sake) and the Astronomy paper on Wednesday went well enough. Divination was a fiasco, and now they were heading off to their Astronomy practical.

* * *

><p>"Help him!" Naruto bellowed. Three fleeting figures shot off across the lawn and slid to a stop in front of Hagrid. Tenten, Shikamaru and Kiba stood in defensive positions, and then body flickered off and jabbed pressure points in the attackers' necks. Hagrid howled in fury as Fang fell to the ground, Stunned, in an attempt to protect Hagrid, and the half-giant lifted the culprit bodily from the ground and threw him.<p>

Umbridge had staged an attack on Hagrid, attempting to remove him from Hogwarts, but she decided to do it during the night. Naruto knew that it was the night of Harry's Astronomy exam, and he hoped that Harry wouldn't have to see this.

The foot of the castle where the front doors had opened again now produced more light and a single long black shadow was now ripping across the lawn. Naruto peered closer and realised that it was Professor McGonagall.

"McGonagall-san!" Naruto shouted. "Stay back!"

But McGonagall did not pay him the slightest bit of attention.

"How dare you!" she shouted as she ran. "How _dare_ you! Leave him along! _Alone_, I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such –"

"Don't!" Naruto yelled, but the wizards who were attacking Hagrid shot no fewer than four Stunners at Professor McGonagall. Halfway between the cabin and castle the red beams collided with her; for a moment she looked luminous and glowed an eerie red, then she lifted right off her feet, and flew backwards.

Naruto grunted as he managed to catch the Transfiguration teacher as she fell. Fury now boiled in his veins.

"YOU BASTARDS!" he snarled. "YOU HAVE THE _NERVE_ TO ATTACK SOMEONE LIKE THAT! FREAKIN' DOGS! GO TO HELL!"

"Hey!" Kiba protested.

Hagrid seemed to have taken up on Naruto's language.

"COWARDS!" bellowed Hagrid; his voice carried clearly across the castle, and several lights flickered back on inside Hogwarts. "RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT – AN' THAT –!"

The wizards and witches who had been with Umbridge to dispose of Hagrid were now all lying on the ground, and Umbridge herself was screaming in rage.

"Get him, get him!" shrieked Umbridge, but there was no one left. Hagrid had slung Fang over his shoulders, and he began to run. Umbridge sent one last Stunning spell at him, but missed; and Hagrid, running towards the distant gates, protected by the ninja, disappeared into the darkness.

Naruto had sprinted off towards the hospital wing with Professor McGonagall in his arms. He passed Umbridge, who tried to stop him, but he almost killed her.

"You _dare_?" he hissed. "You allowed them to shoot _four_ Stunning spells at McGonagall-san, who has done absolutely _nothing_ wrong, and she's in mortal danger, and _still_ you're trying to arrest me instead of getting her to help? You're disgusting."

* * *

><p>The fifth years' final exam, History of Magic, was not to take place until that following afternoon. They entered the Great Hall at two o'clock and took their places in front of their face-down examination papers. Harry felt exhausted, having only slept about three hours the night before, for obvious reasons. He just wanted this to be over, so that he could go and sleep; then tomorrow, he and Ron were going to go down to the Quidditch pitch – he was going to have a fly on Ron's broom – and savour their freedom from revision… and try not to worry about Hagrid. But he knew that the ninja had made sure Hagrid got out safely, so at least that put his mind temporarily at ease.<p>

Neji watched silently from the ceiling as the fifth years began writing. He spotted Harry in the crowd, and pursed his lips together. He had a feeling something was going to happen.

* * *

><p>He was walking along the cool, dark corridor to the Department of Mysteries again, walking with a firm and purposeful tread, breaking occasionally into a run, determined to reach his destination at last… the black door swung open for him as usual, and here he was in the circular room with its many doors.<p>

Ruby-red clouds were patterned against the doors. Harry had a feeling they meant something important, but his brain wasn't functioning properly…

Straight across the stone floor and through the second door… patches of dancing light on the walls and floor and that odd mechanical clicking, but no time to explore, he must hurry…

He jogged the last three metres to the third door, which swung open just like the others.

Once again he was in the cathedral-sized room full of shelves and glass spheres… his heart was beating very fast now… he was going to get there this time… when he reached number ninety seven he turned left and hurried along the aisle between two rows…

But there was a shape on the floor at the very end, a black shape moving on the floor like a wounded animal… Harry's stomach contracted with fear… with excitement…

Ruby-red cloud against a black background... where had he seen this before?

A voice issued from his own mouth: a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness…

"Take it for me… lift it down, now… I cannot touch it… but you can…"

The black shape on the floor shifted a little. Harry saw the icy glint of a kunai, the knives the ninja liked to use… its blade pressed against the man's throat. The man lying on the floor…

"Lord Voldemort is waiting…"

Very slowly, his arms trembling, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few centimetres and lifted his head. His face was blood-stained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet rigid with defiance…

"You'll have to kill me," whispered Sirius.

"Undoubtedly, I shall in the end," said the cold voice. "But you will fetch it for me first, Black… you think you have felt pain thus far? Think again… we have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream…"

But somebody screamed as Voldemort lowered his wand again; somebody yelled and fell sideways off a hot desk and onto the cold stone floor; Harry awoke as he hit the ground, still yelling, his scar on fire, the Great Hall erupting around him, and a pair of strong arms held him in place.

* * *

><p>"Harry!" Neji said, shaking the boy urgently. "Harry, wake up!"<p>

As the boy opened his green eyes, Neji saw fear, real fear, churning within them. "What did you see?"

"Si-Snuffles," he gasped. Students were whispering around them, and the examiner was hurrying towards the pair. Thankfully, Umbridge was not there. "Snuffles–in trouble–knives–"

"Ino, get to the Great Hall, quickly," Neji said, pressing a finger to his radio. "Hurry." He turned back to Harry and lifted him up, and without another word, body flickered outside into the Entrance Hall, where Ino was waiting.

Ino knew exactly what to do. Clasping her hands together into a hand seal, she entered his mind. As she read his memories, Neji called for all the ninja to come and they arrived a second later. Tenten and Sakura had twigs in their hair; presumably, they had been training in the Forbidden Forest. Gaara, Kiba, Naruto and Hinata looked as if they had been interrupted from sleep. Shikamaru had a scroll in his hand and annoyed expression on his face. Neji ignored this and quickly explained what happened to them.

They then waited for several tense minutes (Naruto shooed the examiner away) until Ino resurfaced with a choked breath of air.

"Black-san is in trouble," Ino said. "I think. I don't know if the dream is planted or not. I don't know if it's fake or real."

"What do you mean you 'think'?" Harry said stumbling to his feet and clutching his scar. His face was screwed up in pain. "He's in trouble, we have to rescue him."

Ino recounted what she had seen, as Hermione and Ron exited the Great Hall, and met with Harry, who explained what was happening to Sirius. The group then grabbed the students and hauled them off to a private, empty classroom, where they began talking.

"Harry," said Hermione, "the dream. Are you sure it's real?"

"If it is, we have to–" Ron began, but Hinata cut him off.

"No," Hinata said, unusually forcefully. "It could be a trap."

Neji could tell that Harry wanted to yell at them.

"It's real!" he shouted.

"Harry!" Hermione said, interrupting him. The group of ninja and wizards looked at her. "Harry… what if your dream was–was just that, a dream?"

"Voldemort knows about his connection with you," Naruto said.

"The dream could be a trap," Tenten said, speaking up for the first time. "It–"

"You don't get it!" Harry shouted at her, at all of them, "I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! What d'you think all the Occlumency lessons was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing all these things? Because they're REAL–Sirius is trapped, I've seen him. Voldemort's got him, and nobody else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him!"

"Harry Potter!" Naruto said loudly, glaring at the boy. "Calm the _fuck_ down."

Seething, Harry paced the classroom.

The ninja were ill-tempered and not in the mood for someone yelling at them. They were all exhausted for some unknown reason, and their joints kept on hurting, though they didn't know why.

The door opened and Ginny walked in, looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in accidently.

"Hi," said Ginny uncertainly. "We recognised Harry's voice. What were you yelling about?"

"Never you mind," said Harry roughly. The ninja were babbling away in Japanese, their faces filled with worry.

"Okay, fine," Shikamaru said, turning to Harry. "We're going to check if Black-san is really home or not, and if he's not, we'll go and get him."

"Sirius is being tortured _now_!" shouted Harry. "We haven't got time to waste."

"But if this is a trick of Voldemort's, Harry, we've got to check; we've got to."

"How?" Harry demanded. "How're we going to check?"

"We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him," said Hermione, who looked positively terrified at the thought.

"We'll draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts, and that's where we can use Ginny and Luna," Ron said.

Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny immediately said, "Yeah, we'll do it," and Luna said, "When you say 'Sirius', are you talking about Stubby Boardman?"

Nobody answered her.

"Let's get moving," Naruto said.

* * *

><p><strong>okay, there's ch. 30. if you want to leave a review commenting how bad it is, please don't, because i will metaphorically murder you through the PM system. i know it's bad, shut up, it's been two years. and don't review if you want to rave to me about how much you love it, because i will feel like a terrible asshole for giving you a shitty story.<strong>

**just like. don't review. read and nod and go on with your life.**

**also, i have found someone who's agreed to adopt this story. when she posts up the first chapter, i'll alert you guys.**


	31. Hands Slick with Blood

**the ninja will be using their masks in this chapter, and maybe the next. so, just in case you've forgotten:**

**Fox – Naruto**

**Slug – Sakura**

**Dragon – Tenten**

**Hawk – Neji**

**Raccoon – Gaara**

**Stag – Shikamaru**

**Cat – Hinata**

**Wolf – Kiba **

**Dove – Ino **

**Chapter Thirty One: Hands Slick with Blood**

* * *

><p>"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"<p>

Harry's head began to spin as though he had just got off a fairground ride though his knees remained firmly planted on the cold office floor. He kept his eyes screwed up against the whirling ash and when the spinning stopped he opened them to find himself looking out at the long, cold kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

There was nobody there. He had expected this, yet was not prepared for the molten wave of dread and panic that seemed to burst through his stomach at the sight of the deserted room.

"Sirius?" he shouted. "Sirius, are you there?"

There was a scuffling sound, and then Harry saw Kreacher the house-elf sneaking into view.

"It's the Potter boy's head in the fire," Kreacher informed the empty kitchen, stealing furtive, oddly triumphant glances at Harry. "What has he come for, Kreacher wonders?"

"Where's Sirius, Kreacher?" Harry demanded.

The house-elf gave a wheezy chuckle.

"Master has gone out, Harry Potter."

"Where's he gone?"

Kreacher merely cackled and edged towards the staircase.

"Where has Sirius gone?" Harry yelled. "Kreacher, has he gone to the Department of Mysteries?"

Kreacher stopped in his tracks. "Master does not tell poor Kreacher where he is going," said the elf quietly.

There was a moment of silence, and then the elf let out his loudest cackle yet.

"Master will not come back from the Department of Mysteries!" he said gleefully. "Kreacher and his mistress are alone again!"

And he scurried forwards and disappeared through the door to the hall.

"You–!"

But before he could utter a single curse or insult, Harry felt a great pain at the top of his head; he inhaled a lot of ash and, choking, found himself being dragged backwards through the flames, until with a horrible abruptness he was staring up into the wide, pallid face of Professor Umbridge who had dragged him backwards out of the fire by the hair and was now bending his neck back as far as it would go, as though she were going to slit his throat.

"You think," she whispered, bending Harry's neck back even further, so that he was looking up at the ceiling, "that after two Nifflers roaming around in my office I was going to let one more foul, scavenging–"

"Let them go," said a light, but hard voice. Harry strained to see the person in question, but he knew the voice. Sakura. "You're hurting him."

Umbridge let out a squeal of laughter.

"Let them go?" she repeated. She wrestled his wand away and threw it somewhere. "Don't tell me what to do, ninja. The Aurors will arrest you; they will be arriving shortly." Umbridge jerked her head in Sakura's direction. "Get her."

There were sounds of a scuffle, and Harry knew that whoever tried to challenge Sakura had been beaten. Umbridge proceeded to ignore her.

"I want to know why you are in my office," said Umbridge, shaking the fist clutching his hair so that he staggered. Harry heard Sakura step forward in warning.

"I was–trying to get my Firebolt!" Harry croaked. He didn't need to look to know that Sakura was rolling her eyes at the very obvious lie.

"Liar." She shook his head again. "Your Firebolt is under strict guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"

"No one–" said Harry, trying to pull away from her. His eyes suddenly focused on the ceiling (because that was where he was facing) and he spotted Tenten and Gaara stuck there. They both raised a finger to their lips. _Be quiet._

"LIAR!" shouted Umbridge. She threw him from her and he slammed into the desk. Sakura hurried forwards and pulled him to his feet. Now he could see Hermione pinioned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode. Malfoy was leaning on the windowsill, smirking as he threw Harry's wand into the air one-handed and caught it again.

There was a commotion outside and several large Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna and–to Harry's bewilderment–Neville, who was trapped in a stranglehold by Crabbe and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. All four of them had been gagged.

"So, Potter," she said, ignoring Sakura. The ninja put a hand on his shoulder, silently warning him: _let me take care of it. _"You stationed lookouts round my office and you sent this buffoon–" she nodded to Ron "–to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes–Mr Filch having just informed me so."

Umbridge pulled out her wand, and Sakura then stepped in front of him. Umbridge's eyes focused on the kunoichi, at her defensive position.

"Very well," she said, her eyes glinting with a hint of mania. "Very well… I am left with no alternative… this is more than a matter of school discipline... this is an issue of Ministry security… yes… yes…"

She seemed to be talking herself into something, and Sakura evidently knew what, because she growled to herself.

"You are forcing me, Potter… I do not want to," said Umbridge, moving restlessly on the spot, "but sometimes circumstances justify the use… I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice…"

"Umbridge," Sakura said.

"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue," Umbridge whispered. At that, Tenten and Gaara dropped from the ceiling, and Sakura flew forwards. She kicked Umbridge in the face, and Harry heard a sickening _crack_ as her right cheekbone broke. Blood pooled, and Umbridge screamed. Umbridge's wand rolled across the floor, and Sakura stepped on it, effectively snapping it in half. Then, she swung her fist around, and knocked Umbridge into the wall, where she lay there, unmoving.

Meanwhile, Gaara and Tenten were finishing off the Slytherins who were holding Harry's friends captive. Harry saw with savage satisfaction that Malfoy was laying face-first on the floor, his nose broken.

"Let's go," Harry said. "Sirius isn't home. He's gone. Kreacher said he's gone to the Department of Mysteries."

"Alright, fine," Gaara said. "We'll go, Potter-san, you stay here."

"What?" Harry said, aghast. "I have to go. I'm the only one who knows where to go." Tenten shook her head.

"We've checked out the Department of Mysteries as soon as we found out you were having those dreams. Dumbledore-san assisted us. We know where to go. We know what you're talking about," she said.

"But–" Harry began. He didn't know why he was insisting to go, but it seemed Gaara did.

"I know, Harry," he said kindly. Harry blinked at the usage of his first name. "It's hard to sit back and wait. It's very hard to wait."

Harry said nothing, purely because he was right. Gaara continued.

"We'll bring him back," Gaara said. "Don't worry, we'll bring him back."

"Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Gaara and I will be going to get Sirius," Sakura said. "Neji, Tenten, Kiba and Ino will be staying here. If you need anything, find them."

Harry nodded.

Naruto glanced towards his crew. "We'll be wearing our masks, just as a precaution. It probably won't do anything, but…" He shrugged. "Now Harry," he said sternly. "Stay out of trouble."

Harry nodded.

As the ninja turned he leave, he said, very quietly, "Bring him back."

Then a tiny whisper, so soft Harry barely heard it: "We will."

* * *

><p>He was walking along that corridor again… that corridor that lead to the Department of Mysteries… the door opened, just like it did last time…<p>

Harry kept walking… once or twice, he thought he heard the sounds of battle… he ignored it…

He came across something that shouldn't be there… a body… with rising fear Harry knelt down and turned it over…

The face of Shikamaru stared back at him… his face was white… his lips were blue… he was dead…

Harry turned and saw another body… blonde hair… a pool of blood… Naruto…

"No," Harry mumbled to himself. Looking around he saw Hinata fighting with someone, and Gaara's sand rose up in an angry wave.

He felt a strange, undesirable happiness, as though his problems were being dealt with. At the same time, he felt a justified horror.

_Yes,_ whispered a voice in his head, _yes…_

"No… NO!"

Gasping, Harry shot up, his scar was screaming in pain. His eyes watered as he stumbled to his feet.

"Harry!"

"God," Harry said. Tenten hurried over to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Harry turned panicked eyes towards her.

"Naruto… and the others… they're in trouble," Harry said. "They're in trouble! We have to help!"

"We sent over five ANBU," Ino said. "You mean they're all fighting?"

It was already an hour after the ANBU had left for the Ministry. Harry had been dozing by the windowsill when he had fallen asleep and had his dream.

Tenten took a deep breath. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Harry babbled, "very bad. Naruto and Shikamaru weren't moving, Hinata and Gaara are fighting. I can't see Sakura." He didn't want to say Naruto and Shikamaru looked dead.

Neji massaged his temple. When Naruto was gone, he was in charge. "They'll be fine."

"They're not! They're–they're losing!" Harry said in agitation.

"Naruto's orders were to stay here," Neji said.

"Neji," said Tenten quietly, then she turned to Ino. The blonde knew immediately, and made a strange hand seal.

"Excuse me, Potter-san," said Ino.

She entered his mind, Neji and Tenten watching anxiously. Harry's face glazed over, and Tenten caught Ino before she fell to the ground. Finally, Ino re-emerged, her face pale.

"Bad," was all she said.

Neji hesitated; he seemed torn between listening to Naruto and rushing off to help.

"Neji," said Tenten gently.

Neji pressed his lips together. "Alright, if it's that bad, all remaining ANBU will report to the Ministry of Magic. We leave now."

"Potter-san," Ino said. Harry continued to pace agitatedly. She sighed. "Harry! Harry Potter!"

"What?!" Harry snapped.

"Don't do anything stupid," Kiba said. "We'll be back by nightfall–hopefully."

"I wish one of us knew how to make a Kage Bunshin," Tenten said. "We have to leave a few here."

"Okay, let's go," said Kiba.

"But–"

And then, the remaining four ninja disappeared.

"Merlin," Ron said. "We have to sit and wait?"

"We have to go," Ginny said, glaring at them all.

Harry clenched his teeth together as his scar seared again.

…

He raised a pale white hand… the man on the floor gasped in air… there was blood everywhere…

"Come now, Sirius Black," Harry whispered. "Do as you're told."

"I was always a rebel," Sirius wheezed.

Harry felt a sudden surge of annoyance as he detected the presence of a couple of ninja.

"They will die," Harry said. "Your ninja friends will die before ever reaching you. Don't start to hope now, Sirius Black…"

* * *

><p>"Harry!" Hermione said, shaking him.<p>

"I–don't–" Harry mumbled.

"Harry?" Ron said worriedly.

"It looks as if… the enemy is strong," Harry said, "really strong. We have to get going." He left out the dream part, not wishing to cause Hermione anymore alarm than was necessary.

Hermione looked scandalized. "We have to stay here!" she protested.

"They're in danger!" Harry almost shouted.

"The ninja are taking care of it," Hermione said stubbornly. Harry felt his anger bubbling within him.

"What don't you understand?" he yelled. "They're–in–danger! We have to go help!"

"But how do we get there?" Neville asked.

"We could always fly," Luna said dreamily. Harry glanced at her, resisting the urge to rub his scar.

"Fly?"

"On the Thestrals," Luna said.

"Alright," Harry said at once. "We'll fly." He needed to get out of here… he needed to see in person that everyone was alright.

The group got to their feet, and then Hermione spoke up.

"Gaara told us to stay here," Hermione said, "so we should stay here."

"Hermione," Harry said. "The enemy were already overwhelming five ANBU. What difference will another four more make? I want to help. I need to help."

Hermione still looked troubled.

"What if they die?" Ron asked quietly. "I wouldn't want to live with myself if they died and we did nothing to help them."

Silence, then:

"Alright," Hermione said in a small voice. "Let's go."

Ginny, Neville and Luna started towards the doorway, before Harry said angrily, "You're not going."

Ginny turned back to him, her eyes flashing. "And why not? Sirius is as important to me as he is to you."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I want to help," Neville said.

"It'll be fun," Luna said airily. Harry stared at them all, but something told him he didn't have time to argue.

He groaned. "Fine."

Grimly, the group marched down to the Forbidden Forest, and, grimacing, Harry, Hermione and Ron slit themselves, courtesy of their wands, so that the Thestrals would be attracted to them.

"Damn, it hurts," Ron hissed. It worked, however. The skeletal horses poked their noses through the trees, and Harry, Luna and Neville helped Ginny, Ron and Hermione mount them.

"To the Ministry of Magic," Harry said. He wasn't sure if the Thestrals understood English, but it launched itself into the air and through the sky.

* * *

><p>Harry did not think he had ever moved so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle, its wide wings hardly beating; the cooling air was slapping Harry's face; eyes screwed up against the rushing wind, he looked round and saw his five fellows soaring along behind him, each of them bent as low as possible into the neck of their Thestral to protect themselves from his slipstream.<p>

They were over the Hogwarts grounds, they had passed Hogsmeade; Harry could see the gullies and mountains below them. As the daylight began to fail, Harry saw more collections of lights as they passed over more villages, then a winding road on which a single car was beetling its way home through the hills…

Twilight fell: the sky was turning to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars, and soon only the lights of Muggle towns gave them any clue of how far from the ground they were. Harry wrapped his arms tightly around the Thestral's neck, willing for it to go even faster. How much time had elapsed since he had seen Sirius lying on the Department of Mysteries floor? How much longer would Sirius be able to resist Voldemort? Were the ninja faring alright?

Harry's stomach jolted as the Thestral's head pointed towards the ground. They were descending at last… he thought he heard a shriek behind him and twisted around dangerously, but there was no sign of a falling body… presumably they had received a shock from the change of direction, just as he had.

The horse touched the ground as lightly as a shadow, and Harry slid gratefully from its back, glad to be on firm ground again. His friends tumbled to the ground, and Harry patted the Thestral before leading them to a battered telephone box.

"Over here," he said, "Quickly."

Ginny and Ron marched in obediently, Hermione, Neville and Luna squashed themselves in afterwards; Harry took one glance back at the Thestrals, now foraging for scraps of rotten food inside the skip, then forced himself into the box after Luna.

"Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!" he said.

Ron did it, his arm bent bizarrely to reach the dial; as it whirred back into place the cool female voice sounded inside the box.

As the female voice and the telephone box did its thing, Harry silently wished for it to hurry up. Hermione handed him a badge that read, _Harry Potter, Rescue Mission_ and he pinned it irritably to his front.

"Hurry," he murmured.

The telephone box sank into the ground, and soon Harry saw the golden glow of light.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening," said the cool female voice.

The door of the telephone box burst open; Harry toppled out of it, closely followed by Neville and Luna. The only sound in the Atrium was the steady rush of water from the golden fountain, where jets from the wands of the witch and wizard, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat and the house elf's ears continued to gush into the surrounding pool.

"Come on."

They stepped into an elevator and they stopped at the bottommost floor. The Department of Mysteries. They entered a corridor where nothing was moving but the nearest torches, flickering in the rush of air from the lift.

Harry turned towards the plain black door. After months and months of dreaming about it, he was here at last.

"Let's go," he whispered, and he led the way down the corridor, Luna right behind him, gazing around with her mouth slightly open.

"Is that blood?" Neville whispered, pointing to the right. Harry glanced over, and his heart dropped. There were indeed a few drops of blood.

"Oh," Hermione moaned as they went through the black door. "Oh god…"

They were standing in a large, circular room. Everything in here as black including the floor and ceiling; identical, unmarked, handless black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue; their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor made it look as though there was dark water underfoot.

The door clanged shut behind them, and the walls began rotating.

"Great, we're stuck," Ron whispered. Harry swallowed.

"Let's look through all the doors," he said.

He marched straight through the door now facing him, the others following close behind him, set his left hand against its cool shining surface, raised his wand ready to strike the moment it opened, and pushed.

It swung open easily.

The place was empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly-white objects were drifting around lazily in it.

"What're those things?" whispered Ron.

"Dunno," said Harry.

"Are they fish?" breathed Ginny.

"Aquavirius Maggots!" said Luna excitedly. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding –"

"No," said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. "They're brains."

"_Brains_?"

"Yes… I wonder what they're doing with them."

Revolted, Harry backed out. "This isn't right. Let's get out of here."

The next door was larger than the last. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room. At the centre of a pit was a fluttering veil, which was strange, considering that there was no wind.

Wrong door.

The next one they tried was locked.

With a feeling of increasing desperation, Harry pushed open the next door.

"This is it!"

He knew it at once by the beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. He saw clocks gleaming on every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room.

"This way!"

There was a crystal bell jar quite as tall as he was that stood on a desk and appeared to be full of billowing, glittering wind. Drifting along in the sparkling current was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose into the air, it cracked open and a humming bird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the boom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

"It's Time," Hermione whispered, staring at the jar.

"Keep going," Harry said sharply. He glanced back the jar to the only door behind it. "This is it."

He glanced around at them all; they had their wands out and looked suddenly serious and anxious. He looked back at the door and pushed. It swung open.

They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.

"You said it was row ninety seven," Hermione whispered. Harry nodded.

The group edged along the shelves, counting as they went.

_Fifty four… _

They kept on moving.

_Eighty four… eight five…_

"Harry," Ron said suddenly. "Why haven't we seen the ninja yet?"

Harry blinked, but before he could answer, they had arrived at row ninety seven.

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively, but he did not want to respond. His mouth was very dry. There was no one here.

"Somewhere about… here…" he said.

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. There was nobody else. All was echoing, dusty silence.

"He might be…" Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. "Or maybe…" He hurried to look down the one beyond that.

"Harry?" said Hermione again.

"What?" he snarled.

"I… I don't think Sirius is here."

Nobody spoke. Harry did not want to look at them. He felt sick. He did not understand why Sirius was not here. He had to be here. This was where he, Harry, had seen him…

"Harry?" said Ron. "Have you seen this?"

"What?" said Harry eagerly–it had to be a sign that Sirius had been there, a clue. "What?"

"Its–it's got your name on it," said Ron.

Harry moved a little closer. Ron was pointing at one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light.

"My name?" he said blankly.

He stepped forwards. Not as tall as Ron, he had to crane his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball.

_S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D_

_Dark Lord_

_And (?) Harry Potter_

Harry stared at it.

"What is it?" Ron asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," said Hermione sharply as Harry stretched out his hand.

"Why not?" he said. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"Don't, Harry," said Neville suddenly. Harry looked at him. Neville's round face was shining slightly with sweat. He looked as though he could not take much more suspense.

"It's got my name is on," said Harry. And feeling slightly reckless, he closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface and lifted it off the shelf. Nothing happened whatsoever.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts. Ginny gave a gasp of horror.

"To me, Potter," repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand, palm up.

Harry's insides plummeted sickeningly. They were trapped, and outnumbered two to one.

"To me," said Malfoy yet again.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry said. Several Death Eaters laughed. He raised his voice. "I want to know where Sirius is!"

"_I want to know where Sirius is!_" mimicked the woman to his left. She had a harsh voice. "_The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo,_" said the woman in a horrible, mock baby voice. "_He tought dat what he saw happened to da ninja was weal._"

The woman clapped her hands, and a few more figures materialised. Figures in cloaks of black, decorated with ruby-red clouds. The Akatsuki. Hanging by their arms, bound up in ropes, were five unconscious people. The ANBU. Harry didn't know where the other four were.

"It's time you learned the difference between real life and dreams, Potter," said Malfoy. "Now give me the prophecy, or your little ninja friends will die."

Malfoy jerked his head. Harry recognised Deidara among the Akatsuki, and the clay-user grinned at him. A kunai was produced within the folds of his cloak, and it hovered over Raccoon's unmoving neck. He pressed the blade against the side.

"Mm," Deidara said. "We have the Kyuubi, so why are we helping these jerks again?"

"Madara said so," whispered a crackly, creepy voice. It came from the one who was hunched over with a beard thing covering half his face.

"Ne, Sasori," Deidara said, smiling malevolently. "Can't we just kill them all? I want to go home."

Harry saw Fox tilt his head slightly in the arms of a man with… blue skin?

"Harry," Luna said. But then, Fox's fist flew up to smack the blue-skinned man in the face, and, flipping over to his feet, darted forwards and planted himself in front of Harry and his group. It was so quick Harry barely registered what he was seeing.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing here?" Fox asked under his breath, standing protectively in front of him.

"Um..."

"Didn't I _specifically_ tell you to _stay_ out of trouble?"

"… Yes."

"And yet you are here. I'll take care of you later."

Harry gulped.

Malfoy snarled, and the blue-skinned man sighed.

"He got away," he said. "How annoying."

"Kisame!" Deidara moaned. "Now we have to get him back, mm."

Kisame shrugged. "I want a good fight."

"So… you want us to let them go… on _purpose_?" Sasori repeated. Kisame shrugged.

"We'll kill them later," he said. Malfoy snarled irritably, and Harry turned his attention back to him.

"The prophecy, Potter," he hissed.

Harry managed to step on Hermione foot, and he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What?" Hermione hissed.

"Smash shelves–" Harry murmured as Malfoy kept on talking, "–when I say _now_–"

He felt Hermione passing the message around as he half listened to Bellatrix's blabbering.

"–the Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?" Bellatrix shrieked.

_Uh… what is she talking about?_

"And now," Malfoy said, "you will–"

"NOW!" Harry, and, strangely enough, Fox, yelled.

Five different voices behind him bellowed, "_REDUCTO_!" five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly white-figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor.

At the same time, the four 'unconscious' ANBU still in the arms of the Akatsuki sprang to life, and the Akatsuki in question skipped back a few steps, avoiding a stream of flying jutsu.

"Run!" Fox shouted. The four ANBU previously captured, namely Cat, Stag, Raccoon and Slug, immediately split into groups. A second later, the other four, who seemed to be lurking somewhere in the shadows (Hawk, Dragon, Wolf and Dove) joined them.

Fox gave a nod to Cat, and she inclined her head in understanding. Quickly, rapidly, swiftly, they formed a series of fifteen hand seals, and then blurred through all the Death Eaters present. Fox pushed a chakra laden hand into the first Death Eater, Cat doing the same to another. They continued this process, until all the Death Eaters had been marked.

_"Jakka Maho no Jutsu!"_

The Death Eaters gasped when they received the mark, but recovered. It didn't seem to do anything, but Fox smiled under his mask, knowing that he would activate it at the right time.

* * *

><p>"Boo-yah!" Wolf said happily. "Let's kick some butt, Akamaru!"<p>

The huge white dog appeared out of nowhere, and with a joyful bark, joined his friend and master. Wolf stretched out his muscles, which had been sore for quite some time now, and bounced on the spot.

_Ah,_ Wolf thought. _They have leftover Sound ninja as well, eh?_

"Yo, Hawk!" Wolf shouted. "Team up with me!"

Hawk streaked forwards, and they both faced Kisame together. Wolf heard Hawk murmur, "Byakugan" beside him, and he got into his fighting stance.

"A mid to long-range fighter, and a short-range fighter," Kisame said idly. "Good team, but sorry, not good enough to beat me."

Kisame raised Samehada and the wrappings blew away. The sword grumbled hungrily, and Kisame grinned at them.

"Looks like Samehada wants to eat," Wolf commented. Hawk sighed at his friend's foolishness, and then ran forwards.

* * *

><p>Dragon was busy dodging the various spells and curses that flew in her general direction, and then let loose a few weapons. A few found their targets, and Death Eaters slumped forward, groaning as blood blossomed onto the floor. A Sound ninja ran into view, and Dragon dodged and her right hand flickered out.<p>

Sparks flew as kunai clashed with kunai, and Dragon used the momentum to push herself apart.

"Filthy Konoha scum," the Sound shinobi hissed.

"Likewise," Dragon retorted. Thankfully, there weren't very many Sound ninja. She blinked as she felt a sudden pain, and as she looked down, beads of blood began to fall with a thin cut on her leg. The Sound ninja smirked.

"Using soundwaves now, ka?" Dragon said, frowning. "How annoying." She quickly summoned up weapons, which the Sound ninja then deflected with soundwaves. She tsked, and then she saw a pink blur streak out behind the ninja, and Slug slammed her head to the ground.

"Thanks," Dragon said. She spotted Harry and the others, and huffed.

"Move!" she shouted to Harry's group. They pelted towards the door, "HURRY!

She saw Raccoon take over as their bodyguard, and she sighed in relief, and then turned her attention back to the Death Eaters and Sound ninja. Slug nodded at her, and then joined him.

Gathering more chakra, she opened one of her scrolls, which she retrieved from her hiding place, and then a rain of sharp pointy things were summoned.

She grabbed a kunai and shot towards a wizard, her feet hardly touching the ground, and tore through his heart. Blood splattered her mask, but she barely paused, moving onto her next target. She drew her fist back and punched a female Death Eater. She felt the woman's jaw break, and fissures began to crack along her facial bone. The Death Eater cried out, and Dragon slit her throat.

Her hands were slick with blood, and Dragon readjusted her grip so they wouldn't slip. She spotted a wizard giving Stag some trouble and sped towards him.

* * *

><p>Slug and Raccoon were fighting back to back, kunai and shuriken in hands, brow furrowed in concentration.<p>

"You're getting better at short-range fighting," Slug commented lightly, spearing a Death Eater with a shuriken. Raccoon shrugged.

"I need to," he said. They were surrounded by a circle of Death Eaters, but neither seemed to be worried. "Look out for the spells."

"I know," Slug chided. "I'm not weak."

"I'm not going to lose you again," Raccoon said, flinging a kunai into the head of a man. Slug gave a little laugh.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said. Raccoon sighed irritably. The fact that the joints in his arms didn't seem to want to work was also annoying him.

"I'm getting sick of them," he muttered. His sand reared, pouring out of his gourd, and then slamming into the ground, drowning the Death Eaters along with it.

"What a terrible way to die," Slug said, "inhaling sand into your lungs." Raccoon shrugged and his sand slithered back to him.

"It does the job," he said quietly.

* * *

><p>Stag and Fox faced Deidara together, and all three pairs of eyes sparked with hatred.<p>

"Let's go, Fox," Stag said, "though this is super troublesome."

"Tell me about it," Fox said. He sighed, and a ball of chakra appeared in his hand. "Alright, let's go."

In this cramped space, it was hard for Deidara to use his clay models. Hard, but not impossible, unfortunately.

Shadows streaked quickly across the floor, and Deidara, whose mouths (on his hands) were still chewing clay, dodged and landed on the wall.

"RASENGAN!"

Deidara barely moved in time, and a hole appeared right where he was standing a second ago. Fox then decided to engage in some traditional hand-to-hand combat. He managed to kick Deidara's chest, and he kneed his stomach. Deidara wasn't good at battling up-close because he was a long-range fighter.

"Oof," Deidara grunted. He slid to a stop, where Fox had chucked him several metres, and then got to his feet. "That hurt, mm."

He released several little scuttling ants, and they surrounded Stag and Fox in no time. Stag and Fox both raised their arms to their faces as the ants blew up. Coughing, Fox swatted the smoke away.

"Where did that bastard go?" Stag asked.

"Maybe he fell off a cliff," Fox said hopefully. Stag rolled his eyes.

Pure instinct helped Fox evade the next attack. Clay bombs were thrown everywhere. These were the kinds that exploded on contact.

Shadows bound Deidara to the ground, and the Akatsuki ninja snarled. Bombs were spat out of his hands, and several landed on Stag's face.

_"Kai!"_

A block of wood appeared where Stag was previously standing, effectively charring it. Fox leapt forwards and sent a blow across his head.

Deidara coughed out blood, and he turned his eyes mockingly towards the ANBU captain.

"You better watch your _comrades,_" he said, making the last word sound like dirt. "You never know when one of them will fall."

"Shut up, bastard," Fox snapped. He raised a kunai to the terrorist bomber's throat; his hands were slick with blood. "I don't have time to listen to your shit."

And then he plunged the blade into his neck.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Jakka Maho no Jutsu. <em>this is supposed to tie in with someone i introduced like ten chapters or something ago. i don't expect anyone will remember it, so don't worry about it.****  
><strong>


	32. Sweat, Blood and Tears

**Chapter Thirty Two: Sweat, Blood and Tears**

* * *

><p>"He isn't a very good opponent for me," Cat murmured, jumping aside to avoid Sasori's scorpion-like tail. "He hasn't got any chakra throughout his body."<p>

"Not a good opponent for me either," Dove said. "He keeps moving around!"

The two kunoichi were reduced to using basic kunai and shuriken to battle Sasori, but as they say, simple is best – hopefully.

Cat swung her blade and it connected with the tip of Sasori's tail, batting it away. As a thousand needles shot towards them, Cat and Dove dodged them all.

"Looks like you need help," Slug said, and she leapt in to join the fray.

"Where are the Death Eaters?" Dove asked, deflecting a senbon.

"I think some of them are chasing Potter-san and his group," Slug said. "Hopefully they'll be alright."

"Where's Raccoon?" Cat asked.

"With Deidara," Slug said. "I think he wants to settle an old score."

There was a huge yell, Cat turned just in time to see Deidara leaping away from Fox, clutching his bleeding throat. There was several kunai sticking out of various places in his body as well. Too many to list.

"That idiot," Sasori whispered. "Did he come unprepared again?"

Deidara snarled as leapt away, swaying as he did so. He wouldn't be coming back. He had received too many wounds.

Cat stepped into a puddle of blood and felt the already-cold liquid seeping into her shinobi sandals. She hoped that her aching muscles wouldn't slow her down during her fight. Then again, it probably would. Cat raised her arm again, the kunai shining cruelly in the dim light.

* * *

><p>Harry hurtled through the corridor with only Neville for company. The six of them had separated, and now Harry was panicking slightly (alright, he was panicking <em>badly<em>) as to the whereabouts of his others friends. He heard the thundering footsteps of various Death Eaters behind him and Neville, and in desperation, flung open the closest door he could see. He and Neville sprinted into the room with the glass jar and the clocks.

"_STUPEFY_!"

The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eater's shoulder and hit a glass-fronted cabinet filled with hour-glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up onto the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered–

The Death Eater snarled.

"_STUPEFY_!" screamed Hermione, who had just caught up with them. The spell hit the Death Eater, who froze, his arm still raised. He then toppled into the bell jar, and his head began shrinking and turning to a baby's.

There was a shout from a room nearby, and then a crash and a scream.

"RON?" Harry yelled. "GINNY? LUNA?"

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked.

The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre and a little creepy, his tiny baby's head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions.

There was a tremble on the ground underfoot, and they all stumbled. The Death Eater with the baby's head tripped and smashed to the floor, where he lay still.

"Come on!" he said, leaving the Death Eater. They streaked off for the door that stood open at the other end of the room, leading back into the black hallway.

They had run halfway towards it when Harry saw through the open door two more Death Eaters running across the black room towards them. Veering left, he burst instead into a small, dark, cluttered office and slammed the door behind them.

Before Hermione could lock it, the door splintered open, and the two Death Eaters had come hurtling inside.

With a cry of triumph, they both yelled:

"_IMPEDIMENTA_!"

Harry, Hermione and Neville were all knocked backwards of their feet, thrown towards desks and into bookcases.

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" yelled a Death Eater. "IN AN OFFICE OFF–"

"_Silencio_!" cried Hermione, and the man's voice was extinguished. Harry took care of the other one, and as he turned around, the Death Eater with no voice made and sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermione's chest. She gave a tiny "Oh!" of surprise, and crumpled to the floor.

"HERMIONE!"

Cursing, Harry fell to the floor beside her and checked her pulse. She was still alive.

Meanwhile, Neville crawled rapidly out from under the table, and managed to hit the Death Eater with a curse. He howled in pain and fell backwards, blinded.

"Good job," Harry gasped, holding his ribs where a couple of books had hit him.

"Is she okay?" Neville asked. Harry nodded.

"Alive," he said.

Before they could make another move, a door to their right sprang open and three people fell out of it.

"Ron!" croaked Harry, dashing towards them. "Ginny – are you all–?"

"Harry," said Ron, giggling weakly, lurching forwards, seizing the front of Harry's robes and gazing at him with unfocused eyes, "there you are… ha, ha, ha… you look funny, Harry… you're all messed up…"

Harry looked at Ginny desperately. "What happened to him?"

"Oh god," groaned a voice from the doorway. Harry glanced back at it, and Stag was standing there, blood trickling down the bone-white of his mask. "What's wrong with Ron?"

Ginny shook her head and slid down the wall into a sitting position, panting and holding her ankle.

"I think her ankle is broken; I heard something crack," whispered Luna, who was bending over her and who alone seemed to be unhurt. "And we were in a dark room full of planets… one of them grabbed Ginny's foot." She gestured helplessly to Ginny, who was breathing in a very shallow way, her eyes still closed. "A spell hit Ron, and he went all funny… I could barely get him along."

"Alright," Stag said. "Let's get them out of here." It was somewhat of a relief to let someone else be in charge, to let the burden rise off his shoulders, but Harry still did not let go of the fact that it was he himself who led them all into this death trap. Stag strode forwards and slung Hermione over his shoulder, while Luna helped Ginny, and Neville was left with Ron.

The door flew open, and three Death Eaters sped in, led by Bellatrix Lestrange.

"There they are!" she shrieked. Stag swore and flung shuriken at the Death Eaters. Unfortunately, one missed Bellatrix. The group stumbled out of the room and managed to slam the door in Bellatrix's face before she could curse them, but they knew it wouldn't last long.

* * *

><p>Hawk spluttered out something red, which hit the inside of his mask as he struggled up from the ground. He ignored the smell of blood, and focused his veined eyes at Kisame.<p>

"You okay?" Wolf called, not looking at him.

"Fine," Hawk said. He lifted his mask and wiped the blood trickling down his cheek, where it mixed with his sweat. His armour was dented in some places where he had been thrown against the wall. The glass of the broken prophecies cracked under his feet, and more than once he had been stabbed by a couple of pieces.

Wolf and Akamaru whirled forwards in a blur of wind, and Samehada was barely able to 'shave' off his chakra before Wolf was able to overwhelm him. Kisame grunted as he slammed into the wall, but then he got back up again, looking as though nothing had happened.

_Have to get close enough to close his tenketsu,_ Hawk thought. The other battles had moved away into other places in the Department of Mysteries; he, Wolf, Akamaru and Kisame were the only ones left in the smashed-up prophecy room. _Get rid of his sword._

"Wolf, get his sword away from him," Hawk muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Wolf grimaced.

"Think I haven't been trying to do that?" he whispered back.

"Do you know where his blind spot is?"

"Uh, no."

Hawk huffed. "We've got to think of something."

"Woof!"

"Hey, that's a good idea, Akamaru!"

"What'd he say?"

"You'll see…"

"Wolf!"

* * *

><p>"Zetsu and Madara aren't here, are they," Fox said through his teeth, plunging a kunai into a Death Eater's back. How many had come, anyway?<p>

"No," Dragon said. The pair of them were killing off the remaining wizards and Sound ninja left in whatever random room they had stumbled into. A few spells had managed to hit them, and Fox's blonde hair was smoking slightly. Dragon received a large gash on her arm from a stray kunai, but she ignored the throbbing pain and pulled out another shuriken.

"Uh oh," she whispered. Fox glanced at her, confused.

"Dragon?" he said. She swayed on her feet, biting her lip so hard that he drew blood, though of course he couldn't see it. "Oi, Dragon!"

She fell to her knees, holding her head, which was suddenly aching like hell. Snarling, Fox broke the neck of the Death Eaters that were left, receiving a punch across the head in the process, and then hurried over to her.

Stars burst in front of his eyes as his head suddenly hit the floor.

"Ow," he moaned. He rolled away just in time for the last Sound ninja to stab the ground just where he was. Fox caught him in battle for a few minutes, and after killing him, went over to Dragon.

"The world is spinning," she said woozily. Fox glanced at the gash on her arm, and groaned.

"Sasori's poison," he murmured. "Hopefully it's one of the basic kinds."

Dragon wasn't concentrating. Poison? What was poison? Was it edible?

She frowned at him. "You look like a fox."

"God," Fox mumbled. "Great. Dragon, hang on, okay? If anything happens to you, Hawk will have my head."

_Get Sakura, or Ino,_ Fox thought. _Either one of them will be good…_

"La, la, la," Dragon sang happily. "The sun is bright today~!"

"Shit," Fox whispered. If the situation wasn't so serious, he would have found it comical. He recognised the poison. It would only be a matter of hours before she died, and in those matters of hours, she would have hallucinations like there was no tomorrow.

Fox heard coughing, and then Raccoon stumbled into the room, sand slipping off his body in clumps, his red hair sparkling with water.

"Raccoon!" he called. He tried supporting Dragon, but she merely tripped over drunkenly and sang nursery rhymes. "Where's Slug?"

"She's fighting Sasori with Cat and Dove," Raccoon said. He didn't say anything, because then a huge gush of water overwhelmed him, and he was swept out of sight.

_Raccoon must be fighting Kisame,_ Fox thought. _Wasn't Hawk and Wolf fighting him as well?_

Great, so now both of their medic nin were battling against an enemy (a damned strong one at that) and he was stuck with a kunoichi who acted like she had too much sake.

* * *

><p>"Finally," Slug gasped, as Sasori's young puppet body clattered to the ground. She paused there, catching her breath, and then straightened up again, ignoring the various senbon marks she received. "Cat, Dove, come here." Slug pulled out three syringes from her kunai pouch, and then plunged them into herself and her friends. "Antidote to Sasori's poison," she explained. "Now go help wherever you can. There are still way too many Death Eaters and Sound shinobi running around."<p>

The two ninja nodded and ran off. Slug attempted to bandage up some of her wounds, and staggered off. There was an anguished cry of, "Slug! Dove!" and the kunoichi headed immediately in that direction.

She found Fox huddled on the ground, a pale Dragon lying against him. A broken radio dangled off Fox's neck, and he pulled it off and flung it away.

"Poison," he said. Slug nodded, and set to work. "It's a hallucinogenic one. She'll die in about half an hour."

"Got it," she mumbled. "Cat, Dove and I just had this done as well." This poison was easy to cure. She reached into her kunai pouch, and pulled out another syringe. "My last one," she murmured. Fox winced when he saw it, and Slug stuck it into Dragon's arm without hesitation.

"Will she be okay?" Fox asked anxiously. Slug nodded.

"In a few minutes," Slug said. "I'll stay with her until then. You go and help the others."

"Thanks, Slug," Fox said gratefully. He carefully eased Dragon off him, and shot away.

* * *

><p>"That was just a taster," Bellatrix said manically. Neville lay sobbing at her feet, no longer screaming. The Death Eaters had cornered them the room with the seats running all around it, with the pit in the middle. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were among the Death Eaters not wiped out by Harry's group and the shinobi, and they had managed to grab Neville hostage. There were about ten left. Stag had been distracted, fending off another few wizards, and they had lost him a few doors back. "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy or watch our little friend die the hard way!"<p>

Harry did not have to think; there was no choice. The prophecy was hot with the heat of his clutching hand as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forwards to take it.

Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.

Malfoy turned and raised his wand, but Tonks had already sent a Stunning Spell right at him. Harry did not wait to see whether it had made contact, but rolled out of the way. The Death Eaters were completely distracted by the appearance of the members of the Order, who were now raining spells down upon them as they jumped from step to step towards the sunken floor. Through the darting bodies, the flashes of light, Harry could see Neville crawling along. He dodged another jet of red light and flung himself flat on the ground to reach Neville.

Spells soared across his head as he tripped and ran towards Neville. The stone floor between them exploded as a spell hit it, leaving a crater right where Neville's hand had been only seconds before.

A shadow passed over Harry's head, and he saw Stag leaping down, a kunai out. But there was something strange in his stance; it was almost as if Stag was hurting all over.

"Move, Harry," Stag shouted. There were blood splotches all over his clothes. "Leave, now!"

Catching the Neville's eyes, Harry nodded, and they both sprang to their feet and ran. Sirius and his Death Eater lurched past, duelling so furiously that their wands were blurs; Harry stumbled across Moody's magical eye spinning away across the floor.

A Death Eater attempted to curse Harry, when out of nowhere Sirius appeared again, ramming into his body.

"Harry," Sirius shouted. "Take Neville and get out of here!"

Harry did not see what happened next: Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pockmarked and no longer masked Rookwood.

"Come on!" Harry yelled. He and Neville scrambled to their feet and stumbled towards each other. "Let's go round up the others! We've got to get out of here!"

He grabbed Neville's arm, but then the boy was pushed forwards by a falling Death Eater, knocking into Harry and the little glass ball flew out of his hands… and smashed onto the floor.

As both of them stared at the place where it had broken, appalled at what had happened, a pearly figure rose up into the air, with hugely magnified eyes, unnoticed by any but them. Harry could see its mouth moving, but the words were lost in the clashes of battle.

"I'm so sorry!" Neville cried. "I'm so–"

"It doesn't matter," Harry shouted. "We've got to go!"

"Dumbledore!" Neville whispered, looking past his shoulder. Harry, completely distracted by this, stopped and stared.

"What?"

"DUMBLEDORE!"

Harry turned to where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway of the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body–they were saved.

Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Harry, who had no more thoughts of leaving. Dumbledore waved his wand, and a rope appeared, weaving between the Order members and binding together the remaining Death Eaters, which weren't a lot.

There was only one pair battling: Sirius and Bellatrix. Their arms were blurs, bright spells shooting haphazardly at each other, and still they were so deadly.

"Come on, you can do better than that," Sirius jeered, ducking under a red light. He was laughing at her. Bellatrix curled her lips. The second jet of light hit him squarely in the chest. Harry saw his eyes freeze, his mouth still open in a sly grin. As if in slow motion, his face relaxed, and he toppled over gracefully, his body curving in an arc, as he fell through the tattered veil hanging through the arch.

"SIRIUS!"

Harry stared at the veil, and then he let go and Neville and began sprinting towards it. No… no, it couldn't be…

"SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

"Harry!" Lupin barked. He managed to pull Harry back. "Harry, stop it! He's gone!"

"SIRIUS!"

* * *

><p>Fox glared up at Kabuto, his teeth bared.<p>

"Now you show yourself," he growled. "About time."

"Che," Kabuto said. "You've improved a tiny bit, I must admit."

"Where's Orochimaru?" Fox asked. "I haven't seen him anywhere."

Kabuto's face darkened. "Sasuke killed and absorbed him."

Fox was momentarily stunned by this piece of information, but recovered rapidly.

"Get down here and fight, bastard!" Fox snarled. Kabuto's mouth curved into a smile. His glasses were chipped, his white hair a little bit dirty, but other than that, he looked absolutely fine. Damn.

"No, I'd rather not," he said smoothly. "I prefer staying up here and observing the battle from afar."

Kabuto smirked, and he pulled out two senbon. Fox's eyes narrowed.

"See if you can dodge these," Kabuto said. He threw them, but it wasn't at Fox. The blonde turned his head, confused, fear rising in his gut, to see who he was aiming at.

Cat.

Oh, shit, _move_.

Her name barely formed at his lips before the senbon found their mark.

At that moment, he wasn't Fox anymore; he was just Naruto.

A boy who was currently terrified out of his wits… because someone dear to him had fallen.

* * *

><p>Hawk jerked in the middle of his attack. He looked around, frowning and biting his lip. Something had happened. Something had disappeared. Something important. He wanted to stop and find out what it was, but this one remaining Death Eater was proving to be annoying. He was alone in this random empty room, save for the wizard. He didn't know where the others were. He shook his head, deciding to look for it later, and turned back to the enemy.<p>

* * *

><p>Fox watched in horror as the slim, feminine body grew slack. Cat crumpled quietly to the ground. As she did so, the chakra strings holding her mask to her head disappeared, and the painted piece of porcelain dropped from her face.<p>

Time seemed to slow down for a while. Hinata's blue-black hair fanned out around her head in midair. The blood that splattered out from her wounds seemed to freeze in space; tiny drops of blood that looked like sparkling rubies.

The expression on Hinata's face was one of surprise, as if she didn't know what had just happened. The veins around her head diminished as her Byakugan deactivated itself.

When she finally hit the ground, time reverted itself back to normal. She made barely a thump on the cold stone floor.

Fox's mask shattered as another one of Kabuto's senbon skimmed its edge; it grazed his nose. The mask fell away to reveal a tired face and frightened, but oddly resigned eyes. Naruto didn't notice anything, because his legs were already moving him far away from that place. They were sprinting towards the girl most precious to him, the girl who was lying on the ground, covered in blood.

* * *

><p>Hawk snarled, pain shooting up his leg. Dragon hurried over to him and grasped his arm in her slender, calloused hands.<p>

"You better pull the kunai out," Dragon whispered, nodding towards the knife, where it lay, buried in his calf. Hawk seized the hilt and yanked it out, dropping it and letting it clang to the floor. Blood splattered everywhere, and tears of pain sprang into his eyes. Hawk wiped them away irritably as Dragon bound the wound tightly with a length of fabric. "I think your leg is broken."

"The battle has finished, right?" Hawk asked. Dragon nodded. Her brown hair was falling out of its buns and her face was streaked with sweat and blood on the inside of her mask.

"Dumbledore has rounded up most of the Death Eaters. Kisame is still alive; I think Raccoon and Wolf are fighting him. Slug arrived to replace you," Dragon said, "and the others are taking care of any stray Death Eaters." She lifted him up. "Come on."

The pair moved painfully from one room to another, Dragon almost dragging him, trying to find a teammate, until they opened a door which Hawk remembered seeing Fox/Naruto disappear into. Both their radios had been destroyed in their various fights.

"N-Hawk!" called a voice from a corner. Hawk twisted around painfully and spotted Naruto. The blonde was kneeling over Hinata, and as Hawk met his captain's eyes, he saw absolute fear in them. He noticed Naruto's hand clasped tightly on Hinata's shoulder. Hinata herself was lying with her back on the floor, her blue hair splayed wildly around her head. Blood leaked out from the corner of her mouth. The red liquid pooled at her neck, and Hawk detected something silver flashing within it.

_Oh kami,_ Hawk thought. He could feel dread bloom in black flowers inside his heart. _What's happened? What's wrong?_

"What?" Hawk said. Naruto opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish for a few seconds. Hawk began to grow agitated, "What?!"

He tried to go over to where his cousin lay, unmoving, but his leg hindered him. Dragon helped him up, but he only just collapsed again. He had moved too much and his joints were killing him. "Naruto, _what is it?!_"

When Naruto spoke, his voice shook with quiet panic.

"K-Kabuto came… he threw some senbon. Two went straight into her neck. Hawk… do something about Hinata! I can't–"

"Spit it out, Naruto!" Hawk barked, "What's wrong with Hinata?" Realization then dawned upon Hawk. The thing he felt earlier… the thing that he felt was missing. He now knew that what he had felt was a chakra signature disappearing. Terror seized the Hyuuga boy firmly by the heart as his captain uttered the next words.

"She's not breathing."

The shadow of the Grim Reaper hovered beside Hinata's body.

* * *

><p><strong>idk wtf i was thinking in this chapter.<strong>


	33. Wake Up

**Chapter Thirty Three: Wake Up**

* * *

><p>Hawk stared at his captain, unable to comprehend what he had just heard. Naruto became visibly agitated. His eyes grew desperate.<p>

"GODDAMMIT N-HAWK, SHE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Hawk finally reacted. It was rare of him to raise his voice, but in-character-ness was not the top priority here. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT BREATHING?!"

"SHE'S NOT BREATHING!" Naruto shouted back. He turned towards the still form of Hinata and began muttering, "Her pulse… it's not there… Shit, Hawk. Oh kami oh kami oh kami. Hinata, wake up. Please wake up."

Dragon seized Hawk's upper arm and almost dragged him towards his cousin. He barely noticed the pain in his leg. It was unimportant right now. Once they were there Hawk frantically searched for a throbbing in her neck. He couldn't find one. His hands were shaking.

Naruto cradled the body. No, he mustn't think like that. It was _Hinata_, not 'the body'. It was Hinata. She wasn't a corpse.

_Oh kami._

"Sakura," Hawk whispered, "find Sakura or Ino. It doesn't matter. Find one of them." Dragon nodded tensely, her lips pursed into a straight line.

"Alright," Dragon murmured. She ran off, her breath sounding desperate even to her own ears.

"Hinata," Hawk mumbled, "wake up."

* * *

><p>"Stay there," Wolf ordered Harry. He then turned and looked directly at the most feared wizard in a hundred years… possibly in the history of the magical race, without an ounce of fright. He had swapped places with Stag, who had previously been protecting Harry. Stag had now taken over the fight with Kisame.<p>

Harry watched as Dumbledore and Voldemort faced off, the latter's snake-like face curled into a nasty snarl.

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore calmly. "The Aurors are on their way."

Wolf shifted in front of Harry. Akamaru was nowhere in sight, which was odd. Harry felt a certain sense of déjà vu. The defensive stance… the spread arms. He had been protected twice like this previously. The first time, when he was a baby and his mother had stood between him and death, and the second time, that night in Hogsmeade village, when Slug and Dove, now Sakura and Ino, had shielded him from any stray attacks from the Akatsuki and the other ninja.

"Everything will be fine," Wolf said. The ninja did not normally offer senseless reassurances, so Wolf must really believe that Dumbledore was going to win. Harry hoped so. This whole mess was his fault. It was all his fault… Sirius…

Dumbledore flicked his own wand: the force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Harry, though protected by a nice meat-bag (Wolf), felt his hair stand on end as it passed and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it. The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage, though a deep, gong-like note reverberated from it–an oddly chilling sound.

Wolf winced. "It's loud," was all he said.

Harry was frozen. He felt scared, watching Dumbledore walking towards Voldemort in such a defenceless manner.

_Move,_ Harry pleaded, _MOVE!_

"Calm down," Wolf muttered. "You're hyperventilating."

"I'm not!" Harry snapped back. Both Wolf and Harry cringed as the jets of lights collided with each other. Momentarily blinded, Harry did not see what happened next, though he did hear the sound of hissing.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowing. "Above such brutality, are we?"

"We both know that there are other ways to destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said, his tone suggesting that this was merely a nice, polite tea party. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit–"

It was the first time Wolf and Harry had seen this colder, darker side of Dumbledore.

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" snarled Voldemort.

"You are quite wrong," said Dumbledore, still speaking lightly.

They both raised their wands at the same time, and Wolf backed up, almost squashing Harry against the wall.

There was a massive shock wave, and Harry felt it pass through his body, rendering him unable to speak. Wolf seemed to experience the same thing, because once it was over, his knees trembled, and the ninja almost fell to the ground. There was a high, dog-like whine coming from somewhere, and Wolf regained his balance.

Then, Harry's scar burst open and he knew he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance–

He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature's began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape–

And when the creature spoke, it used Harry's mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move…

"_Kill me now, Dumbledore…_"

Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again…

"_If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy…_"

_Let the pain stop,_ thought Harry_… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this…_

_And I'll see Sirius again…_

As his godfather's face filled his mind, a pain erupted inside him. It was a different pain than what he had experienced. This was emotional pain, and it scratched and tore at his heart until it bled red raw.

It hurt…

* * *

><p>"We have to dispose of her body," Hawk hissed, holding his leg. Naruto stared at him.<p>

"What?"

"Naruto," Raccoon said, "we have to destroy her body. It's the rule."

Naruto's arms started shaking. He shook his head.

"Hinata is going back home to Konoha," Naruto whispered.

"Naruto!"

"Please…" There was such begging, such plea in his voice, that Hawk almost broke.

"Ha, look what we have here," drawled a low voice. Hawk glanced around, and Kisame stood there, grinning at them. "Is that Hyuuga dead?"

Naruto growled. Stag got into a defensive position and sand whirled around as Raccoon raised his guard.

"Hinata… give her back to me," Naruto whispered. His cerulean blue eyes were unfocused. Slowly, they turned towards Kisame. Pure, cold, frightening hatred burned within them. "Give her back to me, you fucking murderer."

Kisame snorted. "That's rich, coming from you."

Naruto stood up slowly, swaying oddly as he did so. He ignored the stabbing pains all over his body.

Kisame merely stared at Naruto and hoisted Samehada higher up his shoulder. He appeared unconcerned as the telltale signs of the Kyuubi's chakra began to bubble forth and cover Naruto's body. Raccoon and Stag shifted behind him; they had lost their opponent (Kisame) somewhere before, through the weaving doors and such. Or maybe Kisame retreated himself. Dragon was still looking for either Sakura or Ino. Naruto's eyes went red. The orange chakra oozed and hissed.

The Fox's cloak.

"Naruto," Hawk said warningly.

"I know, Hawk," he said quietly. "I've got it under control."

His eyes sharpened and then focused entirely on Kisame.

"Well, I don't know why you're taking it out on me," Kisame said. "I wasn't the one who killed the Hyuuga girl–" Naruto snarled at this "–but I'm not complaining. I do enjoy a good fight."

And then Naruto leapt at him.

* * *

><p>Kabuto worked furiously, hands blurring as he sewed and weaved it together. He was almost done.<p>

_Hurry up, _he thought to himself. _They're almost finished._

His hands curled into a hand seal, and he muttered a few words. He plants his palms on his work, and then a smiled curved at his lips as he completed the job.

_Alright, now I just have to put it there._

* * *

><p>Shit…<p>

It hurt…

It hurt like hell…

Raccoon couldn't help but cry out loud, but all that came out was a stifled groan. He was so blinded by pain that he lost all bearings of his surroundings. He managed to move his aching head, which had hit the cold stone floor, down to glance at his body. What he saw almost made him faint.

No wonder it hurt so much.

There was a freaking _pole_ sticking out of his abdomen.

It wasn't really a pole, but the leg of a wooden table that had previously been lying in the corner. Raccoon didn't really care what the difference was. The point was, it was inside him. His sand armour was almost gone, and the bits that remained were sliding off him as his chakra slowly dwindled. The table leg had entered behind the right side of his pelvis bone and exited out of his hip.

"Raccoon!" Naruto yelled. Kisame was smiling, Samehada growled. Naruto's fury grew, and Stag edged around to check Raccoon's injuries.

Raccoon swallowed with difficulty. He crawled over to the wall, and slumped there, gasping for breath. Splinters from the wood pierced his stomach, though he couldn't even feel them because of the much greater, horrific wound. He had left a glistening puddle of blood in his wake.

"Raccoon, hang on," Stag murmured. Stag's eyes flickered over to Kisame, but the rogue ninja was busy with Naruto. Stag touched the wooden pole thing, and Raccoon let out a shout through clenched teeth. Stars swam in front of his eyes as the pain blinded him once again. "You're losing too much blood," Stag muttered, trying to find a way to ease the flow of bright red, as red as his hair, which was currently pouring out of his wound. "You're gonna die of blood loss soon if we don't stop this."

How comforting.

"I'm no expert in medicine," Stag said, "but it looks like it's punctured the side of your small intestine and broken your pelvis on the right side."

Raccoon only sucked in air as his response. He was feeling light-headed now, and he couldn't concentrate on what Stag was saying.

"Oi," Stag said, "come on, man, stay awake."

"It's hard to when you have a fucking _table leg_ impaled in your hip," Raccoon snarled, before shutting up as he started seeing black spots in his vision. Stag took a deep breath. It was a testament to his ANBU training that he managed to stay and sound calm in the face of such a disgusting wound.

"Well, we can't take it out," Stag said, "otherwise the blood will only flow out faster. We have to leave it in there."

Raccoon tried not to pass out, and was trying to look anywhere but his hip.

"Shit," Raccoon groaned. Stag bit his lip.

"The damage is pretty bad," Stag said. "I can see your pelvic bone; the table leg must have pushed it out, and a bit of your intestines."

"I don't want to know!" Raccoon snapped. He was losing colour fast, and his breathing was getting shallower.

"Okay," Stag said, "we're going to–"

But then his eyes widened behind the mask, and he fell forwards onto Raccoon's stomach without another word.

Raccoon cried out, his hands clawing the ground as Stag's body jolted the wooden table leg. The sound echoed strangely within his porcelain mask.

"Fucking _hell!_" Raccoon hissed. "Stag! Get the fuck off me!"

But there was a gleaming, scarlet, jagged cut that ran along Stag's shoulder blades, just over his armour, and his head struck the floor, knocking him out. Skin stuck up in the air from the wound, blood spitting out from it. Kisame was about to swing Samehada–who was gulping down Stag's chakra–before Naruto slammed into him.

Raccoon kicked Stag off him mercilessly, and then his brow scrunched as more blood pooled out.

"Fucking… hurts…" Raccoon breathed. He saw Naruto engaging in combat with Kisame, both of them entirely focused on one another. Neji was swaying where he sat, his mask cracked, his eyes were unfocused and he looked as if he was going to faint. Raccoon was sure Neji wasn't taking in any of his surroundings; he wasn't concentrating.

Raccoon frowned when he saw a dim blur flashing behind Naruto and near Neji. His vision started to haze, so he didn't see what happened next. Then he blacked out.

* * *

><p>There were voices echoing through the hall, more voices than there should have been… Harry opened his eyes, saw his glasses lying in front of him, and he reached out gingerly and put them on.<p>

"Harry," said a familiar voice. Wolf put a comforting hand on his shoulder. It was warm, shaky, but still confident. Harry raised his head a few centimetres off the ground.

"Are you all right, Harry?" whispered Dumbledore.

"Yes," said Harry, trembling so violently he could not hold his head up properly. "Yeah, I'm–where's Voldemort, where–who are all these–what's–"

The Atrium, where Dumbledore and Voldemort had fought, was full of people; the floor was reflecting the emerald green flames that had burst into life in all the fireplaces along one wall; and streams of witches and wizards were emerging from them.

"He was there!" shouted a scarlet-robed man with a ponytail, who was pointing at a pile of golden rubble on the other side of the hall. "I saw him, Mr Fudge, I swear it was You-Know-Who!"

"I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!" gibbered Fudge.

Wolf let out a tiny gasp beside him, and the ninja was gone a second later. Harry let his eyes roam, and he saw something that almost broke his already broken heart.

Slug was walking alongside Neville with Luna. Slung over Dragon's back was Hermione, still out cold. The same ninja was towing Ron, still jabbering away. Ginny hobbled with Dove supporting her, her face ashen. All of them were bleeding from some part of their body, bruises decorating their faces.

But what made Harry's heart drop was Naruto. A girl was nestled in his arms, her pale eyes were wide and staring. Two needles stuck out of her neck. Wolf hurried towards them.

"T-taicho? Is… is that Hinata?" Wolf whispered. He didn't move. He couldn't move. Shock emanated throughout his body. Akamaru nudged his side, but Wolf didn't notice. Naruto did not respond. "Why is there so much blood?"

Nobody answered him. It was silent save for the sounds of the annoyingly wizards behind him.

Wolf raised his voice; it was unnaturally high. "Why isn't Hinata moving? Why is there so much blood?" Wolf found himself babbling. There was a feeling of dread inside him, and he wanted to ignore it.

"Guys, if Hinata is hurt, you should dress her wounds. It won't do her any good if you just leave her, passed out like that," Wolf said. He was starting to shake. Dragon turned dull, blank, shocked eyes onto the dog nin.

"Wolf…"

"She's just passed out, right?"

"Kiba–"

"Right?!" His voice was louder, more insistent.

"Kabuto," Naruto mumbled hoarsely. "Kabuto got her… and he escaped with Kisame... and Deidara."

Wolf's legs buckled, and he fell to the ground onto his knees, staring at nothing.

Dumbledore noticed the group, and he sped towards them. Harry managed to make his way there as well, his legs like jelly.

First Sirius, now Hinata as well. Why? _Why?_

"We have to dispose of the body," Slug whispered. "It's… it's the rule."

Dumbledore nodded, and Naruto set Hinata on the ground. He held his hands over her, and then they flashed into hand seals. Naruto muttered something, and even Harry felt the swell of chakra burst forth, which then quickly retreated.

Hinata's staring white eyes never seemed to leave Naruto's face, and Naruto stared into them until she faded and turned into dust, which then disappeared.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto wouldn't cry. No, not yet.

* * *

><p>"Neji and Stag are with Raccoon back in one of the rooms," Naruto said, straightening up and speaking to the ceiling. "Raccoon's injuries are too severe. I don't want to move him. Stag is out cold, and Neji's leg is broken… I think."<p>

Dumbledore was murmuring something unintelligible to Naruto, who was nodding numbly. Dumbledore waved his wand over an object, which glowed blue.

Harry barely registered what was happening. The ninja and his friends touched the object, and they disappeared. Dumbledore then hurried off to the room Naruto was talking about. Harry stood there dumbly for a few minutes, until the headmaster returned. There was blood on his robes. Harry wasn't sure whose, though. He was in a state of shock. He wasn't aware of Dumbledore pressing his finger to a statue's head, until the world disappeared in a whirl of colours.

Harry wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

_Wake up…_

But he didn't.

* * *

><p>It was his fault Hinata had died. It was his fault that his friends were injured. And, god, it was <em>his<em> fault that Sirius wasn't here with him anymore.

It was all his fault.

* * *

><p><em>"A person who feels nothing at the death of those close to him is no different than a butcher," Jiraiya said sternly. Naruto blinked at him owlishly, and then frowned. <em>

_"I don't understand," Naruto whined. "Why are you suddenly telling me this? Is it part of training? Do I have to work out the meaning or something?"_

_Jiraiya shook his head. "No. The meaning is quite clear. Don't forget it, Naruto. Don't forget that because you are human, you will feel. Don't let it break you."_

He didn't want to feel anymore. He wanted to become the butcher, the murderer. He didn't want this pain, this suffering. He didn't want it at all… because it hurt. It hurt too much.

* * *

><p>"Gaara, you idiot," Slug moaned. The redhead was lying in one of the pristine white beds of the hospital wing, though it wasn't white anymore. The sheets were stained with bright red blood.<p>

Gaara was still passed out and his skin was too pale for her liking. Slug took off her gloves and washed her hands, the soreness in her muscles forgotten as she busied herself with him, so that she wouldn't think of Hinata. Not yet.

"He's lost too much blood," Slug said. Dove passed her a blood-replenishing potion which Madam Pomfrey had given her.

"It says you only need one cup. Give Gaara five, ten, whatever, since we shinobi's bodies differ to that of wizards," Dove said. Slug did as she was told and carefully poured the cup into his mouth. His mask was tossed onto a chair.

"His small intestine looks bad," Slug said. She peered around the wooden pole still in his abdomen. "Okay, we're going to have to hurry; he's lost too much blood already, so his kidneys may fail any time."

"We should be able to heal it his intestine, though," Dove said, already getting to work. Slug nodded.

"But it'll take a while," she said. "The damage is not extensive. He's just ripped a bit on the side. Still, organs take a long time to recover. I don't think he will be able to eat properly for a while, either."

"How about his pelvic bone?" Dove asked. Slug bit her lip.

"We're going to have to… force it back into position, and then heal it," Slug said, "but what worries me is that it might hit his femoral artery or vein… they're really close…"

"We're going to have to risk it," Dove said. "He's going to die if we don't. We can't have his pelvis sticking out forever. It's a miracle that the bone didn't hit any blood vessels when it came out, though."

"I know, but if it hits a major artery or vein when it goes back in…" Slug trailed off. She looked at her hands. They were covered in blood. Gaara's blood. She felt a sudden pricking behind her eyes, though she didn't know why.

"Okay," Slug said. "We'll have to do it fast. I don't want him waking up." She gestured to Gaara's frowning face as he slept.

Dove nodded. She fingered the sharp bone protruding out of his skin, and then curled her hand around it.

"When I pull out the wooden pole," Slug whispered, "you push the bone in."

Dove nodded. "One… two… three…"

Piercing yells ripped through the air as there was a sickening slurping sound, and then a loud crunch.

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Hermione said. Dragon moved over to her. Hermione's and Ron's bed were at the far side of the hospital wing, but they could still hear Gaara's screams. Hermione's face was white, and her lips trembled. "He sounds… so much… pain…"<p>

"Gaara tore open a bit of his small intestine," Dragon murmured, "and the right side of his pelvic bone is protruding out of his waist."

_Maybe I shouldn't have told her that,_ Dragon thought as she watched the witch go green. Slug had something injected into her arm, and so the pains in her joints were numbed. She felt so, so tired as well. It felt as though the world was on her shoulders.

Dragon closed her eyes briefly as Gaara's yells washed over her like molten lava, burning lava.

Hermione covered her ears with her hands. "I don't want to hear anymore," she whimpered.

Ron had been knocked unconscious by a powerful sedative as his mental injury healed. Dragon was glad he didn't have to listen to this.

Hermione swallowed, screwing her eyes shut. Dragon sighed.

"Sorry," she told the girl, and then whacked her around the head without warning. Hermione slumped onto her bed, knocked out. "It's better this way."

Dragon made to move towards her comrades, but a wave of pulsing, white-hot pain overwhelmed her. She grunted, and it caught Stag's attention. A warning passed his lips, and Naruto body flickered forwards to catch the kunoichi before she fell.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. Dragon's lip moved soundlessly. Her vision was flecked with odd traces of yellow. Naruto's eyes fell down to the wound on her arm, which she had received during the battle. She had turned into a lunatic for a while. Slug had given her an antidote, but the injury was going green…

"Slug, Dove!" Naruto shouted. "Dragon's poisoned!"

He lifted Dragon's mask off of her face, revealing pale, sweaty skin and eyes rolled to the back of her head.

He dimly heard Dove coming, and a second later she arrived. Naruto took Tenten and placed her on a bed. The other shinobi gazed over in concern, but did not move closer, knowing that she needed room.

"I'm better at poisons than Slug," Dove murmured. Her hands were stained with Gaara's blood. "Antidotes are my forte, seeing as I work in a flower shop and I know plants…"

Tenten jerked, and she coughed up something black and slimy. Dove inspected the blacked thing carefully before wiping it away.

"Definitely poison," Dove said. "It's killing off chunks of her flesh."

"I thought Slug already gave her the antidote before," Naruto said frantically. Dove shook her head.

"It appeared to work; instead the antidote only made the poison spread faster," Dove said. "We misdiagnosed it." They both winced when they heard Gaara's shouts again. "I have to hurry. Gaara needs two people working on him, but the poison in Tenten's bloodstream is already racing to her heart."

Naruto drew the curtains around Tenten's bed and went out when Dove started to carefully peel off the weapons mistress' armour. Dove started mixing the substance needed, and when done, she carefully made two slits below Tenten's breasts.

"Wait, Naruto," Dove said, "Wolf, I need your help."

Wolf and Naruto appeared, and Dove took a breath. "Hold down Tenten's limbs for me. She'll be moving around; hold her still."

"Got it," Wolf said. He plants his palms on Tenten's legs and Naruto held her arms. Neither of them took any notice of Tenten's bare chest; it wasn't important. Tenten's breathing was erratic and shallow.

"Here goes," Dove whispered. She took out a bubble of substance, let it slide through the slits; absorb the poison, out the other slit. Tenten shrieked, her back rising off the bed and then down again.

"Hold her," Dove commanded. Wolf and Naruto tightened their grips. She did it over and over again, trying to ignore Tenten's screams.

Bubble, slide, absorb, out.

Bubble, slide, absorb, out.

* * *

><p>"Someone! Get me a towel!" Slug shouted. She tried to stem the gushing flow of blood with her hands. "He's bleeding too much!"<p>

Slug cursed and attempted to heal the gaping wound, the blue glow lighting up her hands. It helped, but it wasn't enough.

Outside, Naruto sat with his head in his hands. Dove hadn't needed him or Wolf anymore; Tenten was too weak to resist.

It was unbearable for him to listen to Gaara's and Tenten's stricken cries and the medic nin's frantic efforts to stop him from dying.

"Fight, Gaara, Tenten," Naruto whispered. "Hold up… keep going. You can't die yet."

Around him, the rest of the shinobi were in similar positions. Gaara's yells and Tenten's screams were breaking something in them, and Hinata's missing corpse was only making it worse. Naruto didn't want to listen anymore. The shouts coming from the beds next to him clawed at Naruto's eardrums, made him want to start shrieking himself. It was torture.

Dove appeared from Tenten's bed and sprinted over to Gaara's. She had the hardest job; taking out the poison in Tenten and helping Slug at the same time.

"Dove, Gaara's heartbeat is slowing," Slug said, her voice was wavering, "We need to stop the blood _now_."

"I'm working on it," Dove muttered. Naruto could hear rushed footsteps. A choked gasp was heard, and a sharp intake of breath.

There was an eerie silence, then…

"Shit."

That one, whispered word made Naruto's hair stand on edge. The panic, the fear, all in that one, whispered word.

Wolf stood up, his mouth open.

"S-Slug!" Wolf called. His eyes were wide. "Is Gaara alright?"

There was no answer.

Heart beating uncontrollably, Naruto crossed the distance towards Gaara's bed in two long strides. He yanked the curtain open.

What greeted him was permanently etched into his brain. His heart dropped.

Blood_._ There was so much _blood._

Gaara was almost swimming in it; swimming in his own blood. Slug and Dove were standing over him, shock evident in their postures. Gaara himself lay on the once-white bed, his eyes closed, and a huge scarlet hole under the two kunoichi's hands. Their red, red hands.

"Gaara," Slug whispered, "Gaara, Gaara, Gaara, wake up."

She was beginning to feel tendrils of horror snake through her veins. "Gaara, wake up."

"No…" Naruto whispered. Shit, no. Not Gaara. Not Gaara too.

"Check his heartbeat," Slug barked at Dove, who was closest to his chest.

Dove lay her blonde head down, ripping off her mask as she did so. She didn't want it anymore.

Ino's face puckered as she listened to several long, agonizing seconds. Then, joy flooded her body as she heard the sweet, beautiful sound of Gaara's heartbeat.

_Thump… thump… thump…_

"Still there," Ino whispered. Her face split into a smile. She looked as though she wanted to cry with happiness. "It's faint, slow, but it's still there." The smile cracked her dry lips, but she didn't care.

Slug gave a sob of relief, but she forced herself to focus, and her hands lit up into the familiar healing glow again.

"Okay, Ino," she said. "Let's close up Gaara's wound. Then we'll give him some blood-replenishing potion."

Naruto sank to the ground, wiping the drops of water away from his eyes.

* * *

><p>Ino left Slug with the Sand ninja and hurried back over to Tenten's side. The kunoichi was making strange whimpering sounds.<p>

"It's okay, Tenten," Ino said, trying to soothe her friend. "It's okay. You're alright, you're alright. The poison's nearly out."

If Tenten heard her, she gave no indication. In response, Tenten merely gave a feeble cough. Ino started the procedure again; she had left it halfway done and left when Gaara had started to bleed.

Bubble, slide, absorb, out.

Bubble, slide, absorb, out.

Bubble, slide absorb, out.

Ino paused, sweat marring her brow, and almost cried with relief when she checked Tenten's bloodstream.

"Ino? How is she?" came Neji's cracked voice from the other side of the curtain.

"She's out of the danger zone," Ino said, smiling. She heard brief sighs as worry disappeared. She laid a hand on Tenten's shoulder, and whispered, "Wait here, Tenten. I'll be right back."

And then she ran back to Slug and Gaara.

* * *

><p>"Done," Slug said, her voice hoarse. "Gaara's going to be fine."<p>

Slug and Ino emerged from Gaara's bed an hour later, their faces showing similar expressions of tired content. Both their hands were still too red for anybody's liking. Slug seemed to notice this, and she stared at them.

"I was afraid that it would be history repeating itself," she said inaudibly, "that I would become another Tsunade-shishou. I was so afraid that I would start to fear blood as well. For a second back there, I suddenly started to feel disgusted with myself, with the blood that was staining my hands…"

"You did well," Naruto said, clapping Slug and Ino's backs. Naruto said. Neji, who was next to Stag's, smiled wanly in their direction. Though they couldn't see it, they smiled back. Stag had been woken up by Gaara's and Tenten's bloodcurdling yells, and though he muttered, "Troublesome," under his breath, his lips quirked up into a grin as well.

"Good job, guys," Wolf said softly and sent them a thumbs up, but then went back to staring at the wall.

"Come on," Ino said to Slug. "We still have to mix Tenten's antidote. Have you got the bag of herbs shishou gave us?"

Slug nodded, and the two kunoichi went back to Tenten's bed. Ino put Tenten's clothes back on hastily and both she and Slug got to work on the antidote.

* * *

><p>"I need the root," Slug murmured. "Pass me the leaves as well. Ino, can you grind them for me?"<p>

Ino took the bowl and did as she was told. "Slug, put some more water in that. It's too thick."

Quietly, quickly, the two of them worked. Half an hour passed that way. The silence was almost strange, because for the past two hours, there had been screams, shrieks, yells, shouts.

"Done."

Ino took the concoction and rushed over to Tenten, who was starting to look like a dead body.

"Come on, Tenten," Dove muttered. She pried Tenten's mouth open, and Slug went over and held her nose. Ino poured the antidote in, wrinkling her nose at the smell.

Tenten gagged, and her eyes flew open.

"What is that… disgusting… thing?" she said, lifting a hand weakly to wipe her mouth.

"Something that saved your life," Slug said. She gave her a weak smile, one that didn't seem to touch her eyes. "Good to have you back, Tenten."

"You had us worried there," Ino said. She looked like she was about to break down with relief. Tenten grimaced and tried to sit up. Her vision swam and her limbs were shaking.

"What happened?" Tenten asked.

"Poison," Slug said. Tenten's brow furrowed.

"How?"

"The wound on your arm. We mistook it for a basic kind of poison, when it turned out to be another," Ino said. Tenten held her pounding head.

"Guys, Tenten's up!" Ino called. She drew open the curtains and Slug went over to take Gaara's curtains away as well.

"Good," Naruto said, "we have to talk."

* * *

><p>"She's… really gone," Slug said quietly. "She's really gone, isn't she?"<p>

Gaara had finally regained consciousness, and he lay propped up on his bed, moving his neck with difficulty to look at the rest of the group. His stomach and hips were bound in neat white bandages, and Madam Pomfrey had changed his sheets for him. The matron had asked if she could help during Tenten's and Gaara's operation, but the ninja had gently refused her offer. She had appeared several times during the past hours, wringing her hands at the sounds of pain, and the shinobi understood her feelings; she was a nurse, and yet she was helpless, useless in healing them.

Slug stood next to him, a hand on his shoulder. Tenten was up, her arm also wrapped in bandages. Sweat shone on her forehead, and there were dark purple bags under her eyes. She had dry lips and a pallid complexion. Everyone else was awake as well, and Stag had gotten out of his bed and lay, leaning against Wolf for support. They had all gathered in a circle around Tenten's and Gaara's beds.

Slug and Ino's hands were washed clean, though flecks of blood still marred their armour. In fact, blood was everywhere. No one could be bothered changing.

Wolf adjusted his weight; his mask was falling apart, showing his pale, expressionless face.

"Hinata," Neji murmured. "Hinata, Hinata, Hinata…"

"Why?" Naruto moaned. He had his head in his hands. "Why? Kabuto was fighting me! He should have aimed at me! Why at Hinata? Why?!"

Wolf seemed to be in some kind of shock. His slitted eyes never left the floor, and Akamaru stood by his master patiently, respectfully.

There was a choked sob, and Slug had clenched her fists by her side, her head hung. Gaara laid rock still, only moving one hand to wrap around her waist.

Ino stood near Wolf, and salty tears dripped down. Stag swallowed a lump in his throat, and dug his fingernails into his arms. Dragon looked away, swearing that she wouldn't lose her composure… she wouldn't burst out into tears…

Slowly, one by one, the shinobi who still had their masks on removed them, as they did in front of a hall filled with students so many months ago. But this time, instead of bowing and introducing themselves, they cried.

They took off their masks, revealing vulnerable, exposed faces, and cried. They cried over an empty space, and a lost friend.

* * *

><p><strong>originally was going to kill off gaara too.<strong>


	34. Cry

**Chapter Thirty Four: Cry**

* * *

><p>Just a few hours after the battle at the Ministry of Magic, and yet it already felt like a thousand years. It was unbearable, he would not think about it, he could not stand it… there was a terrible hollow inside him he did not want to feel or examine, a dark hole where Sirius had been, where Sirius had vanished; he did not want to have to be alone with that great, silent space; he could not stand it…<p>

The empty fireplace burst into green flames, and Dumbledore stepped out. As the elderly wizard's tall form unfolded itself from the fire, the wizards and witches from the portraits jerked awake, many of them giving laughing greetings and welcoming him.

"Thank you," said Dumbledore softly.

Dumbledore did not look at Harry at first, but merely surveyed his office room in long, sweeping glances.

"Well, Harry," said Dumbledore, "you will be pleased to hear that none of your fellow students are going to suffer lasting damage from the night's events."

Harry tried to say, "Good," but no sound came out.

"Madam Pomfrey is patching everybody up," said Dumbledore. "Nymphadora Tonks may need to spend a little time in St Mungo's, but she will make a full recovery. The ninja are all fine as well; merely scratches, bruises and… impaled table legs, though Gaara will recover." He didn't say anything about Hinata.

Harry nodded at the carpet.

_Physically they'll be fine… but emotionally?_ Harry thought. He swallowed, and cast his mind around, searching desperately for something that did not relate to Sirius.

"I know how you're feeling, Harry," said Dumbledore very quietly.

"No, you don't," said Harry, and his voice was suddenly loud and strong. The lump in his throat was gone. Harry turned his back on the headmaster and stared out into the Quidditch stadium. Sirius had appeared there once, disguised as the shaggy black dog, so he could watch Harry play… he had probably come to see whether Harry was as good as James had been… Harry had never asked him… now he never could…

"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry," said Dumbledore's voice. "On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength."

Harry felt white-hot anger lick his insides, blazing in the terrible emptiness, filling him with the desire to hurt Dumbledore for his calmness and empty words.

"My greatest strength, is it?" said Harry, his voice shaking. "You haven't got a clue… you don't know…"

"What don't I know?" asked Dumbledore calmly. Harry heard some movement behind the door. A knock? But now he was too enraged to think… to speak… no, he didn't just want to speak, he wanted to yell. He wanted to scream and shout his pain away.

"I don't want to talk about how I feel, alright?"

"Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human–"

"THEN–I–DON'T–WANT–TO–BE–HUMAN!" Harry roared, and he seized the delicate silver instrument from the spindle-legged table beside him and flung it across the room. It shattered into a tiny thousand pieces, just like his heart.

"I DON'T CARE!" Harry bellowed. He snatched up a lunascope and chucked it into the fire. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANY MORE–"

He smashed a table into splinters.

"You do care," said Dumbledore. His expression was serene, calm. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."

"I–DON'T!" Harry screamed, so loudly that he felt his throat might tear. Why couldn't Dumbledore understand that he _didn't_ care? He didn't care anymore… except for the fact that he did. That realisation made Harry want to run up to the headmaster and shake him, rattle him, shatter him.

"Oh, yes, you do," said Dumbledore. "You have now lost your mother, your father, and the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course you care."

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" Harry roared. "YOU–STANDING THERE–YOU–!"

But words failed him. Smashing things did not bring his satisfaction. He wanted to run. He wanted to run, run, run, and never look back.

Standing quietly outside, Naruto leaned against the door, listening to Harry scream, listening to him rant. He waited, waited for Harry to calm down, though he knew it would be a long time until he did. He did not understand why Dumbledore was trapping the boy like this. When a death occurred, it was best to leave the affected to their own spaces and not try to contain them.

_Hinata,_ Naruto thought. His heart clenched. He knew exactly how Harry felt. He knew the strong desire to run. The desire to forget. He didn't want to remember anymore.

The rattling at the doorknob told Naruto that Harry was trying to get out, but he was locked in.

_Let the boy go, _Naruto thought. _It's enough… he needs out._

Harry shouted again, and Naruto heard the words clearly. Finally, there were some quiet words, and the scrape of a chair being pulled back.

Then, Dumbledore began speaking. Naruto heard everything; perhaps Dumbledore wanted him to. The headmaster knew that Naruto was out here.

And so for an hour and a half, Dumbledore spoke. He spoke of everything; about Wormtail, about Sirius, about his parents.

Then, suddenly, Harry was yelling again.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT SIRIUS LIKE THAT!"

Quiet words from a calm voice.

"SO SIRIUS DESERVED WHAT HE GOT, DID HE?!"

Naruto buried his face into his hands. Was this his fault?

_You're useless,_ whispered a voice in his head. _Sirius Black died because of you… the boy on the other side on this door is suffering because of you… Hinata is gone because of you… you're useless… a piece of trash… but this is expected of a Jinchuriki, anyhow… you cause pain wherever you go…_

"Shut up," Naruto mumbled to himself. "The Kyuubi has nothing to do with this…"

After a long, long time, the door to Professor Dumbledore's office opened, and Harry almost stepped on Naruto. The ninja got to his feet slowly, sluggishly. Harry and Naruto stared at each other for a second, and in that second, each saw a strange emptiness in the other's face–a sign of a lost loved one, and the pain churning up inside.

Then, Naruto gave Harry the slightest of nods, which the boy returned. Harry stepped out of Dumbledore's office, and Naruto stepped in.

Despite himself, Harry found that his legs would not move. He gave up forcing them, and waited outside the office, listening in through the crack in the door.

* * *

><p>"He…" Naruto murmured. "Why did you trap him?"<p>

"I needed to explain," said Dumbledore softly. Naruto did not look at Dumbledore's face; instead, he straightened up, though it hurt his spine, and with his eyes still lowered to the floor, began to speak.

"Report on the battle in the Ministry of Magic," Naruto said, glad that his voice didn't falter. "Weasley Ron, Granger Hermione, Longbottom Neville, Weasley Ginny and Lovegood Luna are all in the hospital wing receiving treatment from Madam Pomfrey. They are all physically fine. My team have suffered no lasting injuries apart from Gaara–" Naruto paused and tried to swallow with difficulty "–but we had a casualty. Hyuuga Hinata, also known as ANBU Cat, has died from two senbon piercing her neck, and her body has been destroyed. Other than that, we–" Naruto's voice broke "–we're fine." Dumbledore nodded.

"I understand," he said gently. "I shall leave you to grieve in peace. Go."

_Is this what it means to be a ninja?_ Harry thought numbly, his back pressed against the cold wall. _You must put the mission before anything else… even before the death of one of your friends… You must be composed, confident… even though you have lost someone dear to you… You mustn't cry… You mustn't show any weakness…_

Naruto walked out with his head high, and closed the door behind him. He found Harry waiting for him, and said shakily, "You should be getting some rest, Harry."

Harry glanced up, and then looked away again. "I'm… not sleepy." He didn't want to see any nightmares.

"I know," Naruto said quietly. Though he was dead tired, he didn't want to retreat into dreamland just yet. "D-do you want to see your friends?"

Harry shook his head. "I want to be… alone for a while."

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Two days later found Harry at the hospital wing, sitting on Ron's bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the <em>Daily Prophet<em>. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed; Neville was in a chair between the two beds, and Luna, who had dropped in to visit, clutching the latest edition of _The Quibbler_, was reading the magazine upside-down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione said.

As the others chatted, Harry started feeling claustrophobic. The topic of conversations kept swerving back to the Ministry of Magic, and that was not something Harry wanted to talk about. Nevertheless, he kept on a cheery façade for his friends, who would worry if he started looking depressed.

He heard shouting coming from the other end of the hospital wing, and he glanced around. The ninja seemed to be arguing about something. Their faces were tense. Harry turned his head away.

_Smile,_ Harry thought. _Just smile and everything will be alright._

"Harry?" Hermione said, for Harry had just suddenly stood up. They had been talking about prophecies, and Harry needed to get out of there.

"I'm… I'm going down to visit Hagrid," Harry said. "Haven't seen him for a while, so…"

"Oh, alright then," Ron said, looking disappointed. "Tell him we said hi."

Harry forced himself to nod and smile, and he was gone.

But even Hagrid showed signs of wanting to talk about Sirius. Harry couldn't stand it. After a sip of dandelion tea, he made up an excuse and left.

Harry walked out into the glorious sunshine. He closed his eyes for a few moments, wishing that everyone on the lawn would all vanish. He didn't want to see them.

He walked a short way around the lake, sat down on its bank, sheltered from the gaze of passer-bys behind a tangle of shrubs and stared out over the gleaming water, thinking…

Perhaps the reason he wanted to be alone was because he felt isolated from everybody since his talk with Dumbledore. An invisible barrier separated him from the rest of the world. He was – he always had been – a marked man. It was just that he had never really understood what that meant…

And yet sitting here on the edge of the lake, with the terrible weight of grief dragging at him, with the loss of Sirius so raw and fresh inside, he could not muster any great sense of fear.

"Afternoon," said a voice quietly. Harry didn't turn around; he already knew who it was. Ino settled down next to him, and Shikamaru sat on his other side.

"Hope you don't mind," Ino murmured. Harry shook his head, and continued staring out at the glittering water. Harry didn't see it.

"How are your shoulder blades?" Harry asked. "I heard from Ron and Hermione that you got hurt."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Massive scar there," he said, "but it is fine."

No one spoke for a while after that.

"Hurts, doesn't it," Ino said suddenly, in a conversational voice. Harry debated on pretending to ignore her, or answering. Not trusting himself to speak, he decided on the latter, and he nodded.

"Get used to death," Shikamaru said. "It happens all around you." Harsh words, and yet Harry didn't need to look to know that Shikamaru was crying silently, so silently, deep inside.

"I know," Harry said softly. The two of them stayed with him as the sun made its journey ever-so-slowly across the sky.

"Let it out," Shikamaru said suddenly, staring at the clouds. "Let it out, Harry, or it will poison you. But don't do it alone. Be surrounded by friends."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry mumbled. He knew perfectly well.

"There is no point in asking 'what if?' It will not change anything," Ino said. "We learned that when our sensei was killed. We stopped asking 'what if's?' when we realised that it would not bring him back."

"So," Shikamaru murmured, "open the floodgates. Let it out."

Harry stayed silent, and the shinobi did not say anything as well. They sat there for a while. Then, Ino took one of his hands. She peered at it critically, as if she was telling him his fortune.

"Your hands are calloused," she said softly, pointing to the top of his palm, "but they're also soft underneath…"

Harry merely stared at her. Ino looked at him. Blue eyes met green. "You have had a hard life, but you still retain the innocence of childhood… well, you used to. Not anymore… not really."

Harry said nothing, and Shikamaru spoke up. "Ino can tell what a person does by looking at their hands," he supplied. Ino flashed him the barest flicker of a smile, and let of his hand.

"We'd best get going, Harry," Ino said. Ino couldn't stand it anymore. She needed to move. "We have to… we have to work out what to do with…" She trailed off, and closed her mouth.

"You won't wake up," Harry said, barely registering the words that came out of his mouth. "She's not coming back."

"We know," Shikamaru whispered.

Shikamaru rose beside him and the pair left quietly, but not before the male ninja clasped a hand on his shoulder. Harry winced, knowing that Sirius used to do that to him too, a very long time ago.

When the two shinobi were gone, Harry stared unseeingly out towards the lake; a mass of cool, clear water.

_Let it out…_

Harry gritted his teeth.

_Let it all out… or it will poison you._

He squeezed his eyes together.

_But don't do it alone. Be surrounded by friends…_

Harry got swiftly to his feet, and nearly sprinted to the hospital wing. It was sunset, and Harry ran along the corridor, reaching the hospital wing and slamming the door open. He stood there, gasping for breath, as Ron and Hermione stared at him in shock from Ron's beds. There were a few other ninja gathered around Gaara's and Tenten's beds, but they quickly turned back to their own business when they saw the state Harry was in. They understood, and so left the trio of wizards and a witch alone.

"Harry!" Ron said. "A-are you alright?"

Controlling his breathing, Harry walked closer. It was hard, because his vision suddenly got blurry. His hands started to shake, and Hermione understood instantly. She got up, making no noise on the floor, and went over to him.

"It's okay," Hermione whispered. "It's okay." She wrapped Harry into a hug, as the Boy Who Lived, the seemingly invincible hero, the one who would vanquish Lord Voldemort, dropped the fake, cheerful mask he had been wearing for the past few days, and finally, finally began to cry.

* * *

><p><strong><em>~ COLLINS COBUILD ~<em>**

**_~ ENGLISH LANGUAGE DICTIONARY ~_**

**_Definition of 'heartache'_**

**_Heartache_****_ is a very great sadness and emotional suffering._**

How vague. How very vague. That was the dictionary's definition of heartache. But a dictionary can only tell so much, and at the same time, totally miss the point.

What is heartache, exactly? Was it when a loved one died? Was it when a person found out that his or true love was cheating on him or her? The dictionary's definition didn't explain anything. The dictionary didn't say that it felt as though the whole world had crashed down and burned to the ground when someone experienced heartache. The dictionary didn't say that it seemed as though the heart was filled with nothing but heaviness and emptiness.

Emptiness. It was a terrible thing. So horribly lonely. No one like it. No one wanted to experience it. And yet they did. And some recovered, others did not. How awful. How tragic.

* * *

><p>Hinata was always the type of person that you thought would never die. She may have been weak, she may have lost faith in herself, and she may have been useless, but she became stronger, she regained her faith and she became a great addition to the team. They needed her; they needed each other.<p>

* * *

><p>Sirius was a wild man, almost like a stray dog. And yet he was always strong, always there. He never gave up hope, and pride always shone brightly in his eyes when someone talked about Harry. He was so fiercely protective, but so insensitive at the same time. He was blunt, but soft. He was loud, but quiet. Harry needed him. They needed each other.<p>

* * *

><p>Hinata and Sirius… they both died fighting. They both died to protect their important people.<p>

* * *

><p>"Harry… I'm sorry about Sirius. I'm sorry about everything. We were supposed to protect you. We failed. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."<p>

These words were whispered in a sleeping boy's ear, when he had finally dropped off to sleep. It was whispered into the ear of a boy with a lightning shaped scar, who mumbled and turned in his restless slumber.

* * *

><p>Naruto did not get any sleep the night before. Scenes from the Ministry of Magic kept replaying in his head. He wanted to claw it open. Something was nagging within the confines of his mind, but he ignored it. It was something about Sasuke…<p>

The shinobi were still on a mission, and they continued their duties. Patrolling the corridors at night, keeping the students in check during the day, but Naruto did not believe the Akatsuki or Voldemort would strike anytime soon. Both of them had been severely weakened, both had lost over half their forces. Naruto could not bring himself to feel satisfied at that.

The students didn't bother the ninja anymore. Whenever one of the shinobi were seen around the castle, which was often, it seemed as though a dark cloud were following them. None of their faces bore any emotion, but this in itself made everyone realise that they were grieving quietly, deep down inside their hearts. Sorrow weaved through their blank expressions, and their frames were bowed down by anguish.

* * *

><p>Harry no longer felt any resentment towards the ninja. That had been cancelled long ago, and any leftovers had been washed away by overwhelming sorrow.<p>

He looked like a lost soul. A zombie. There was no life in those green eyes, no feeling in his face. He had turned into something akin to the living dead.

* * *

><p>"Hiashi-san has gotten word," Kiba informed Naruto quietly. The two of them were eating breakfast in the Great Hall, though they both merely picked at the food, not feeling hungry. Naruto raised his head to look at the dog nin dully.<p>

"Hiashi?" Naruto repeated. Slowly, the dead look in his eyes faded to be replaced by pure, cold anger. "Hiashi? Why the hell does he know? He shouldn't."

Kiba knew that Naruto did not mean what he said; he was just angered by the loss of Hinata, but unfortunately Kiba was as well. Fury slowly started to make its way through his veins.

"The hell would I know?" Kiba snapped. "Hiashi-san knows about her, that's all I heard."

"WHY?" Naruto bellowed. The Great Hall had fallen silent; many of the students looked apprehensive. Naruto found himself on his feet. Kiba was as well. "WHY THE FUCK DOES HE KNOW? HE SHOULDN'T HAVE! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TELL HIM OURSELVES!"

"I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW!" Kiba shouted back. Akamaru whined, but Kiba didn't listen. "DON'T TALK AS THOUGH YOU'RE IN CONTROL, UZUMAKI, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT!"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled. "SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING MUTT!"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT HINATA DIED! YOU WERE RIGHT THERE! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THE SENBON?"

Both ninja stopped, shocked at what had just come out of Kiba's mouth.

"You…" Naruto whispered. "I… you…"

His fists screwed together. Dumbledore started to rise to his feet, intending to stop them, but someone else beat him to it.

"Stop it," said Ino. She was standing near the doors, her face wiped clean of anything. Her eyes looked defeated. "Stop it, or I'll–"

"Not now, Ino," Kiba said, turning away from her.

"You guys are childish," said a cool voice from the entrance. Heads snapped around, and Harry stepped in, "and very hypocritical."

Kiba, Ino and Naruto glanced at him. Harry did not often walk into a Hall filled with the school, but he must have felt it necessary.

"Remember your first day in England?" he asked quietly. "You heard me shouting, and called me childish. Now you're doing the same."

The three of them seemed to deflate. Kiba slumped back down onto his seat again, banged his head onto a napkin on the table, and left it there. Naruto unclenched his fists, and forced himself to breathe out. Ino folded her arms.

"Hinata would have stopped you both," Harry said, his voice soft. "She was always the peacemaker."

The three ninja blinked.

Naruto and Kiba stared at each other, and an unspoken apology was passed between them. Naruto tried to smile, but failed, and he left to go to a quiet place.

"Thanks, Harry," Naruto mumbled as he passed the boy.

* * *

><p>"We're falling apart," Tenten murmured to herself. "We're fighting amongst ourselves."<p>

She was in a quiet corner, sitting at a secluded desk, piles of random books surrounding her, so that she could hide. She had escaped the hospital wing long ago.

_Hinata was a link to everyone,_ Tenten thought. _Shikamaru was her friend, Neji was her cousin, Kiba was her teammate, Naruto was her boyfriend, Gaara was a friend of her boyfriend, so naturally he'll be friends with her as well. Ino, Sakura and I were her girlfriends… we're all affected._

The weapons mistress dragged a hand down her face, swallowing hard, and her palm stopped over her mouth. A sob escaped her throat. Images of the Fourth Shinobi World War, and Hinata's staring, unseeing eyes flooded her mind's inner eye. Tenten lowered her head, her bangs covering her face, and small drops salt water dripped onto the table.

Tenten did not allow herself to make a noise. She did not have that luxury. When ninja mourned, they were not supposed to utter a sound. They were supposed to grieve quietly. That was the rule. Ninja lived and served in the shadows, doing work that was better left in the dark. They were killers who were not supposed to leave any trace that they had been there, and so when one of their own died, they would bear the pain in silence. That was why Konoha, and probably other hidden villages as well, made up the regulation: a shinobi must never show any emotion.

Neji entered, and his eyes, which never missed a detail, immediately zoomed in on Tenten cowering behind her pile of books. He slid smoothly into a seat beside her, and picked one up.

"An encyclopaedia," he said, his rich, baritone voice soothing her instantly. "I didn't even know you could read."

Tenten gave him a pained, half-hearted smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly, though she knew it was a stupid question. Neji shook his head.

"I have muscle pain," he offered. Tenten rolled her eyes at him, and he sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I keep on thinking that Hinata is just going to walk in like usual."

He fell silent, and his shoulders tensed.

"Neji…"

"I was her cousin!" he said suddenly, pressing his face against his palms. Pain cracked his voice. "I was her older cousin. I was supposed to protect her. What will Hiashi-san say? This is so… so…"

Tenten said nothing, but merely drew him into a hug. Neji let the tears fall, not caring who saw anymore. He let the tears fall, and Tenten did the same.

She laid her head against his shoulder, as the two cried out their sorrow.

A ninja must bear the pain in silence, that was true, but it never said anything about not allowing them to share the burden with their important people.

* * *

><p>"Harry," Ron said. His tone was unusually serious.<p>

"Hm?" Harry said. He felt a little anxious; Ron looked like the bearer of bad news.

"We'll…" Ron winced as Hermione prodded him. "We'll… always be there for you, alright? Remember that."

Harry blinked at him, surprised at the randomness of the statement, and then at Hermione, who was looking determinedly at the floor, her cheeks pinks. Then Harry flashed them a ghost of a smile, and his vision distorted as he stared at the two people most important to him.

"I know, guys. Thank you."

* * *

><p>In the hospital wing, away from Harry, Ron and Hermione, a blonde sat with a book on his lap next to a bed.<p>

"This is exactly why ninja do not often form bonds," came a quiet voice. Naruto did not turn towards the owner: Gaara. Gaara said that statement without any feeling. His eyes were blank, his face smooth. He lay on his bed, propped up against the pillow, green eyes blinking almost serenely at Naruto.

"Is that so?" Naruto said idly.

"The job of a ninja means that they live alongside death. Sooner or later they or their comrades will encounter it, and be killed in action. If their friends die, they can't mope around like this forever. They are going to have to move on."

Naruto did not get angry at these seemingly blunt words. He did not look at Gaara, because he knew the meaning behind them.

"Why are you up?" Naruto asked, changing the subject and flipping the pages of the book on his lap without really seeing it. "You should be resting, sleeping."

Gaara shrugged and shifted his position, stifling a groan as he did so. Even that movement ended with him covered in sweat, pain blinding him, and his breath hitching in his throat as he waited for the throbbing to subside. He had left his gourd leaning against the foot of his bed.

"Hey," Naruto said softly, "don't strain yourself."

But Naruto knew exactly why Gaara was awake, why he was pushing himself. It was because Gaara did not want Naruto to feel alone. In times of sadness, it was best to have a friend by your side, and Gaara knew that.

"I'm such an idiot, aren't I?" Naruto said, laughing bitterly. "I'm even forcing you, someone who should be bedridden and sleeping for two weeks and resting for a month, to stay awake for me, just because I'm too weak to handle stuff by myself."

"No one's forcing me," Gaara said, staring out the window. He laid a hand at his right side, where he had been impaled. It was covered by his usual black clothes that he wore underneath the ANBU uniform, though the armour was gone. Naruto could see the blood soaking out of the fabric, though. There were dark patches everywhere. Naruto's worry went over the top when Gaara started swaying.

"Oi, go back to sleep," Naruto said seriously. "You look like you're about to die."

Gaara chuckled lightly. "I was close, remember?" He shook his head as Naruto grabbed his arm. "I'm awake on my own free will. Pomfrey-san isn't very happy, of course, nor is Sakura." He paused, and then looked at Naruto. "How are you holding up?"

Naruto shrugged, and let his arm fall to his side once he saw Gaara refused to go to sleep before he got what he wanted. "How am I supposed to answer?" he asked. He glanced at Gaara. "You?"

The redhead sighed and shook his head. Naruto knew that Gaara mourned differently. He adopted an uncaring attitude, but that was not so. Gaara was miserable as well. He was so, so tired from carrying the weight of sadness around with him.

In fact, all the ninja were tired. No matter how many times they saw death, they would never fully get used to it. They embraced it, yes, they accepted it, yes, but they would still feel a sense of loss when someone close to them decided to go to the afterlife.

There was something annoying Naruto, but he didn't know what. A memory tried to jostle its way to the surface, but it was always out of reach. For some reason, Sasuke kept popping up into Naruto's mind. Growling, the blonde shook it away.

The afternoon sun poked out weakly behind the dark storm clouds, illuminating Gaara's exhausted face, his defeated eyes and weary body. He raised a pale hand, one that had been soaked in blood many, many times, and put it on Naruto's shoulder. Such a small gesture, yet it meant the world to the blonde.

It began to rain. The sun disappeared. Drops of water fell from the sky, as though the heavens themselves were crying. Naruto sat there with Gaara by his side, both listening to the gentle pitter-patter.

"Is a window open?" Naruto asked quietly. "I can feel rain."

"Yes."

No.

"I see then. That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Why I can feel rain on my face. But it's strange…"

"Why?"

"The rain is hot… and it tastes salty."

"Yeah… it's the same for me too… I wonder why…"

* * *

><p>Sakura and Kiba sat together in a tree in the Forbidden Forest, both lost in thought, both swallowing the lumps in their throats.<p>

"The sky is weeping," Kiba said softly, lifting up a hand to catch a drop. Akamaru lay on the ground with his head between his paws, looking thoroughly depressed.

"Yeah…" Sakura said, her voice almost inaudible in the rain. Akamaru howled; it was a mournful, baying sound. Sakura looked at her hands, hardened by years of wielding weapons, killing enemies, healing both ninja and civilian alike. And yet, with these hands that had done so much, she couldn't even save a friend.

"It's not your fault," Kiba said roughly.

"Not yours either," Sakura replied. Drops of rain fell on her eyelashes, sprinting down her limbs, soaking her hair.

"Not mine, ka?" Kiba said, sighing heavily. "Is it really not mine?"

"Kiba," Sakura scolded quietly. "It's not your fault."

Kiba didn't say anything. His gaze changed from staring at the sky, and it moved down to the ground, where dead leaves and the ground drank up the rain greedily. Bugs were heard shrieking noisily in their various hideouts, and something scurried in the undergrowth beneath them.

"It's not my fault."

The murmur was not heard against the drumming of water.

Drip, drop, drip.

One particularly large raindrop fell onto Akamaru's nose, waking the dog from his sleepy stupor and caused him to shake his head, disgruntled.

"It's not my fault."

Was it? Was it really not her fault? Was it really not his fault?

"It's not my fault."

Some inner voice inside them disagreed. But they spoke the words, their voices carrying weak, useless conviction. They said it merely for show; neither of them really believed it.

The two shinobi sat there, letting themselves get drenched, so that as the tears trickled down their cheeks, the rain could mask it.

* * *

><p>Harry stared up at the moon, pressing his forehead against the glass of his dormitory window.<p>

_Sleep,_ Harry told his brain, but though his body was tired, his mind was on overdrive.

He wanted to sleep, and yet he was afraid of the nightmares. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see Sirius' body falling, falling, falling through the archway, and he would feel helplessness gushing through him.

_Idiot… I am such an idiot…_

Harry's fingers formed into a fist, and his teeth clenched. He leaned against the window, his eyes pressed closed, and he began to dream, lying there, propped up and resting on the glass.

And as Harry slept, a raindrop slid down slowly against the windowpane, and then another, and another, until thunder clapped, a storm broke out, and yet in the reflection, it looked as though Harry was crying.

* * *

><p><strong>the rain bit i credit to fullmetal alchemist.<strong>

**wtf is this angst ew.**


	35. KIA: Killed in Action

**Chapter Thirty Five: KIA: Killed In Action**

* * *

><p>Kiba stared at the letter clutched in his hand. His fingers trembled, and the paper fluttered to the ground.<p>

"No. No, no, no, no."

"Kiba?" Ino said. "Kiba, what's wrong?"

The ninja were in the Great Hall, eating lunch, when Dumbledore had come up and delivered to Kiba a letter from Tsunade.

Kiba's face crumpled and he slammed the table with his fist. The fellow Ravenclaws he was sitting with jumped in their seats, and eyed him warily.

Ino took the letter and read it herself. Her eyes grew wide, and she stared from Kiba to the letter and back to Kiba again. She stood up, and then called out, glad her voice didn't waver.

"ANBU," she said, her voice commanding and strict. The ANBU jumped to attention, all apart from Kiba, who was slumped on his chair. "Outside. There's important news."

"Ino?" Sakura said questioningly. The others gathered around her in the Entrance Hall, away from unwanted ears.

"What's happened?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino took a deep, slow breath, closing her eyes in the process. The ANBU stared at her cautiously, waiting, waiting…

She opened her eyes again. "Yuhi Kurenai, Konoha jounin and past sensei to Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino, has been killed whilst on a mission to Iwagakure, by two minor rogue ninja. Aburame Shino was present as a bodyguard to a client, and he was injured in the battle, but survived," Ino paused, glanced at the letter, and then continued, trying to ignore the looks of blank shock on all of the shinobi's faces, "From what Aburame has reported, Yuhi Kurenai suffered a fatal blow after getting impaled by a katana wielded by one of the rogue ninja. She died in Konoha hospital."

Ino dropped the letter as Tenten covered her mouth with a hand, and Neji simply stared at her. She watched as Naruto's face shattered, and Sakura held her elbows. She heard Shikamaru give a startled intake of breath, and as her throat closed over.

* * *

><p>Harry found Kiba sprawled on the grass, breathing heavily as Akamaru sat next to him. He had been taking out his frustration on a magically enforced wooden dummy, and now it lay cracked and broken on the ground.<p>

"Fuck," Kiba whispered. He laid there, one arm thrown over his face, his eyes squeezed shut.

Harry sat down next to him.

"Hokage-sama," Kiba said through clenched teeth.

"What about her?" Harry asked, his voice dull. "She's your village leader, right?"

Kiba nodded. "She–she just informed us that my past sensei, Kurenai-sensei had been killed in action; KIA. There was a letter; Dumbledore-san gave it to us in the Great Hall…"

Kiba removed his arm and stared up at the blue sky. He looked like he wanted to cry, but he didn't. Not yet.

"She's the lady in the photo, isn't she," Harry said quietly. He didn't show any sign of surprise; the loss of Sirius had numbed his reactions and senses. He remembered the photo, the one with the pretty woman, who had red hair and lips, dressed in a scarlet dress with white bandages and chocolate-coloured hair. She had a child with her.

"What about her kid?" he asked. Kiba shrugged helplessly.

"I think Shikamaru wants to take care of the baby," Kiba said. "But it will be hard. He's a shinobi, after all, and I don't think he will quit just to take care of a child."

"…"

"She… she was part of my family," Kiba said whispered. "Kurenai-sensei had become part of my family. Hinata had become part of my family. How can I lose two family members in such a short period of time?"

"Sirius was the closest thing I had to a father," Harry said, "he was a parent and a friend, rolled into one."

He knew exactly how Kiba felt. He knew the gaping loss, the bewilderment, the ache.

Harry simply sat there, Kiba next to him, both staring up at the clouds.

"Stupid, aren't I?" Kiba said. "I'm such a fucking dipshit. I failed this mission."

"What do you mean? I didn't die."

"No, officially, this mission has been successful so far, but we didn't take care of you mentally. We couldn't protect him or her."

"It's alright." No, it wasn't alright, but Harry was far from blaming the ninja. It was his own stupid fault for believing the dream.

"I am the one to take care of you. I should be the one comforting you, and yet here I am looking like a wimp."

"Better a wimp than someone who doesn't care," Harry said. "And those reasons are not enough to prove that you can handle it by yourself," Harry said, his voice soft. "You need your precious people."

"Have the others been talking to you?" Kiba said, smiling wanly at him. "They are always going on about protecting your precious people, your important people."

But Harry knew that he believed in that just as much as the other shinobi.

"Yeah," he said. Kiba drew in a breath.

"We will mourn when we get back home," he said. "Not here. We haven't finished our mission yet."

"Mm…"

"I don't think it has hit me yet," he said. "I will actually cry–like a baby, I might add–when I am back in Konoha."

"It's okay to cry," Harry said, shrugging. "It proves you are still human."

He pressed his lips together as he realised that he had paraphrased what Dumbledore had told him, the night Sirius had died.

"Yeah…"

"Did you know," Kiba said, staring at the sky, "that we are a very inexperienced team?"

"What?" Harry said, completely taken off guard. Kiba glanced at him.

"This ANBU team," he said, "The ninja here, we are very young in terms of knowledge and field work. We are the most inexperienced ANBU team in Konoha."

"Oh," Harry blinked. Kiba turned away from him.

"That is probably why we lost someone this time," he said quietly. "We still have a lot to learn… ka?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"Let's go back up to eat, Harry," Kiba said finally. He motioned to the setting sun. "It's getting late."

"Alright," Harry said. "Let's go, Kiba."

* * *

><p>"Ano… Trelawney-san?" Naruto said hesitantly, popping his head up the trapdoor, and then climbing up, "You there?"<p>

"Why hello, my child," said the mystical voice, "How nice of you to visit."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as the unbearable heat hit him. "Uh, well, I figured I wouldn't see you again, so I came here to say goodbye."

Trelawney ghosted towards him, her magnified eyes looking as though they were going to pop out. Naruto restrained himself from closing his eyes at her glittery-ness.

"So," Naruto said, edging towards the escape route. "Yeah, goodbye. I'll… I'll be going now…"

He turned his back towards her, before a strange voice stopped him.

_"The Boy Who Lives shall die by the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named,"_ said a thick, screechy voice. Naruto froze, his blue eyes wide open. He turned around to see Trelawney going into a weird spasm thing.

"Trelawney-san?"

_"He shall die, and will meet the one who he hates and cherishes," _Trelawney continued, in the same raspy voice. _"Gone are the days where his innocence rules him. Gone are the days where he believes that the world can be saved without sacrifice. The boy who survived fifteen years ago will die by the hands of He Who Must Not Be Named. He shall die…"_

Naruto had stared uncomprehendingly at the Divination teacher, and then she slumped forward, snorted, and then jerked awake.

"Oh, my apologies, dear," she said dreamily. "Just the heat, you know…? I must have drifted off."

"Um," Naruto said. He knew at once that he had just witnessed a prophecy. "Um… I better go now. It was nice meeting you… I think," he added in a whisper. He descended the ladder and into fresher air, and then sped off.

* * *

><p>"Your face is empty," Ino said. She was picking at a loose thread on the armchair in which she was currently sitting on. She was visiting Kiba in the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully, it was about two in the morning, and so no one was about. Both ninja were sitting in positions that suggested that their muscles were hurting.<p>

Kiba sighed. "Is it?"

"Yes."

"Ino… how did you deal with it when Asuma-sensei died?"

A pause. "I didn't. Not at first."

"How did you move on?"

"I can't tell you that, Kiba. You have to work it out on your own."

"Why?"

"Because different people do it in their own way."

"That's not helpful."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Silence.

"Kiba?"

"Hm?"

"I want to tell you something. I want you to promise me this."

"Alright, what it is?"

"Please… don't go and seek revenge…"

"…"

"Kiba? Don't tell me you were considering it."

"… No… no, of course not…"

"Kiba…"

"Don't worry, Ino."

Ino stared at him, trying to gauge his emotions. He kept them carefully beneath the surface.

"Kiba," she whispered. "Promise me."

"… I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>there are things throughout this story that i planted as plot seeds for the sequel, which is never going to happen. i'll explain them next chapter, which will be the last one.<strong>


	36. Protect Your Precious People

**the last chapter. finally.**

**Chapter Thirty Six: Protect Your Precious People**

* * *

><p>"Luna?" Harry said, finding that his feet were walking him towards the airy girl. Luna turned around and smiled faintly at him.<p>

"Hello," she said vaguely. She was pinning up notices on a board.

"How come you're not at the feast?" Harry said, referring to the end-of-term feast that he didn't really want to go to.

He had been wandering around the school, feeling strangely lost, until he had stumbled upon the girl.

"Well, I've lost most of my possessions," said Luna serenely. "People take them and hide them, you know. But as it's the last night, I really do need them back, so I've been putting up signs."

She gestured towards the noticeboard, upon which, sure enough, she had pinned a list of all her missing books and clothes, with a plea for their return.

An odd feeling rose in Harry; an emotion quite different from the anger and grief that had filled him since Sirius' death. It was a few moments before he realised that he was feeling sorry for Luna.

"How come people hide your stuff?" he asked her, frowning.

"Oh… well…" she shrugged. "I think they think I'm a bit odd, you know. Some people call me 'Loony' Lovegood, actually."

Harry looked at her and the new feeling of pity intensified rather painfully.

"That's no reason for them to take your things," he said flatly. "D'you want help finding them?"

"Oh, no," she said, smiling at him. "They'll come back; they always do in the end. It was just that I wanted to pack tonight. Anyway… why aren't _you_ at the feast?"

Harry shrugged. "Just didn't feel like it."

"No," said Luna, observing him with those oddly misty, protuberant eyes. "I don't suppose you do. That man the Death Eaters killed was your godfather, wasn't he? Ginny told me."

Harry nodded curtly, but he found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she, too, could see Thestrals.

"Have you…" he began. "I mean, who… has anyone you known ever died?"

"Yes," said Luna simply, "my mother. She was quite an extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

"Yes, it was rather horrible," said Luna conversationally. "I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I've still got Dad. And anyway, it's not as though I'll never see Mum again, is it?"

"Er – isn't it?" said Harry uncertainly.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn't you?"

"You mean…"

"In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that's all. You heard them."

They looked at each other. Luna was smiling. Harry did not know what to say or think; Luna believed in so many extraordinary things… yet he had been sure he had heard voices behind the veil, too.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you look for your stuff?" he asked.

"Oh, no," said Luna. "No, I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up… it always does in the end… well, have a nice holiday, Harry."

"Yeah… yeah, you too."

As Harry walked away from her, he found that the terrible weight in his stomach seemed to have lessened slightly.

* * *

><p>"You're a very curious child, Luna," Tenten said, smiling slightly at the girl as the ninja dropped down from the ceiling. The Naruto Kage Bunshin followed after Harry; the mission wasn't over yet; he still had to protect the boy.<p>

"That's what my mother used to say to me," Luna said. The pair of them walked towards the Great Hall.

Tenten put a hand on her shoulder. "Ne, Luna… I'll miss you."

"And I'll miss you too," Luna said. She startled Tenten by giving her a light hug, and then stepped back. "You have been most interesting to talk to."

"You too," Tenten said. "Oh, I left all your stuff on your bed. I found them in various places around the castle."

"Thank you," Luna said, giving her the perfect Japanese bow. Tenten chuckled, and bowed as well. Even Luna didn't miss the way her laugh sounded hollow and _wrong_.

* * *

><p>"It's been annoying guarding you brats," Naruto said, glaring out at the sea of students. "But we'll miss you, anyway."<p>

That was the end of term speech Naruto gave the school, right after the sombre news that Dumbledore delivered about what happened at the Ministry of Magic. What a change in mood.

"Dumbledore-san," Naruto said, as the students dispersed after the feast. The headmaster walked down to them, the old twinkle back in his eye.

"You've done well," Dumbledore said, smiling at the eight ANBU. "You have completed your mission."

"While taking some detours," Sakura muttered under her breath. Dumbledore's lips twitched.

"I think you'll find the appropriate amount of money back at Konoha and Suna," he said, glancing at Naruto and Gaara. The two of them inclined their heads.

"It's been fun," Tenten said, trying to sound cheerful, and Ino and Sakura nodded.

"It's been very troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled.

"I hear that the Akatsuki have gone back to the ninja continent," Dumbledore said. "Good luck with them."

"Hn," Neji said. "Apparently Uchiha has gone back to home to get revenge on Konoha. We have to get back quickly." He pursed his lips together. "Good luck with Voldemort," he added.

"Thanks for having us," Kiba said. His voice was a monotone, and his eyes were empty. Everyone noticed this, yet they didn't say anything. They knew that they themselves looked the same.

The ANBU turned towards the teachers and bowed towards them.

"Stay safe," Naruto said. The Hogwarts teachers had a mixture of expressions on their faces. Some looked relieved for them to go; others actually looked a little disappointed.

Dumbledore beckoned to Naruto, and, confused, Naruto and Dumbledore walked a little ways away for a minute or so, in which Dumbledore was seen to be muttering furiously and seriously to Naruto. The blonde adopted a business-like face, and he nodded every few words. At the end, Dumbledore gave Naruto a letter rolled up into a scroll, and the pair joined up with the others. Naruto shook his head at his team, signalling that he wasn't going to tell them anything. The group accepted this, and they let it go.

"Ano, what happened to Umbridge?" Ino asked hesitantly. Professor McGonagall smirked at this.

"She, ah, managed to get away from us," Dumbledore said, looking as though he was trying hard not to chortle. "She has gone back to the Ministry of Magic."

"Good riddance," Naruto said. Dumbledore pressed something to Naruto's hand. A kunai.

"This is a Portkey," Dumbledore said. "It will activate in a few hours, which should be when the Hogwarts Express has delivered the students safely back to London. You'll get the whole train ride to say goodbye," Dumbledore winked.

"As if I want to say goodbye to those idiots," Naruto muttered, but when Dumbledore dismissed them, the ninja sped out quickly through the door.

There was a tiny yell, and the ninja turned to see Jason Fleance and Mark Pilate standing outside the Hall.

Naruto nodded and motioned to Neji and Sakura to stay. The others went off. As they walked, Shikamaru caught the eye of Tim Franco, who was among the stragglers out of the castle, and he nodded to him. Tim waved, and as Shikamaru turned away, he grinned.

"Jason," Sakura said in surprise, going over to him. The second year boy's face was red, but then he ran up to her and gave her a hug. Sakura stumbled back, not expecting the reaction, but then she smiled gently and wrapped her arms around him.

"I don't remember," Jason mumbled. "But I know you did something good to me. Thank you."

Sakura patted his head. "You're welcome, Jason."

Meanwhile, Neji and Mark were eyeing each other warily.

"So… I'll see you around," Mark said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Hn," said Neji, also crossing his arms and glaring slightly at him. "I may not be coming back."

"Che. You never know," said Mark. He pressed his lips together. "ButI'llmissyou."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Mark turned pink. "Don't make me say it again, dipshit."

Neji 'tch'ed. "Shut up, brat, and watch your language. You were a pain in the ass for me. I won't be missing you."

Mark stuck his nose up at him. "I won't be missing you either."

The boy turned to leave, and then Neji suddenly appeared behind him. He placed a calloused hand on the Slytherin boy's shoulder, and whispered, "Take care."

Mark snorted. "I should be saying that to you."

Neji began walking down the stone steps, and Mark followed him. Both had faint smiles on their faces.

* * *

><p>The journey on the Hogwarts Express was eventful in many ways. Firstly, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who had clearly been waiting all week for the opportunity to strike without teacher witnesses, had attempted to ambush Harry on his way back from the toilet. Unfortunately, they did not succeed, as they had attacked right outside a compartment full of DA members. By the time Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot had finished using a wide variety of the hexes and jinxes Harry taught them, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle resembled nothing so much as three gigantic slugs squeezed into Hogwarts uniform.<p>

Harry thanked them, and headed by to his own compartment, where he was immediately assaulted by a fistful of cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties that were promptly shoved into his mouth.

"Aw, dammit," Kiba said, disappointed, as Harry choked on the cake, "I thought you were Malfoy."

"I'm offended," Harry said, spitting out the food, his eyes watering. Hermione was reading the _Daily Prophet_ again, and Ron was still stuffing his face.

_"Sabaku Kyu,"_ snarled an angry voice, and column of sand rose in the middle of the compartment, with a tuft of blonde hair sticking out on top.

"He looks like one of Kankuro's puppets," Kiba snickered. There was a stifled shouting coming from the sand.

"LEMMEOUT!" roared a voice. "GAARA IMA KILL YOU!"

"Leave him alone," Hermione said irritably. "You're making the space even more overcrowded." One of Naruto's legs managed to get out, and he accidently kicked Ron in the stomach. Sand spilled and scattered the floor.

"Oof," Ron grunted, and he quickly moved out of the way, massaging the sore spot. "Watch it."

"Let him go," Hermione said.

Gaara glared at the girl, but reluctantly let Naruto free. The ANBU captain burst out, waving his fists.

"BASTARD!" Naruto shouted. Kiba managed to grab the back of Naruto's shirt as he charged at the redhead, who looked less than concerned. Ron shrank out of the way.

"He's recovering, remember?" Kiba reminded the blonde. Naruto growled at both of them.

"It was your fault," Gaara insisted. He moved back and stepped on Ginny's foot. "Sorry."

"Shut up, guys," Ino snapped, her pony-tailed head appearing at the compartment door. "You are so loud."

"Che," Neji said, "they're always loud. Can't change that fact, Ino."

"I dare you to say that again," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes. Neji glared at him.

"Are you stupid or something?" Neji sniffed. Naruto opened and closed his mouth.

"That's it, you're going down," Naruto snarled. Gaara sighed heavily.

"Not here, Naruto," Gaara said. He winced as the train bumped over the tracks and his injury was jolted.

"Why does he have to go crazy in a compartment," Ginny groaned. "Does he have claustrophobia? Does he go psycho in a cramped space?"

"Who knows," Neji murmured to her. Suddenly, a few kunai embedded themselves into the wall.

"I thought Ino told you guys to shut up," Tenten said, frowning fiercely, popping up in the doorway. "And Naruto, Shikamaru wants to sleep. He wants you to be quiet."

"Tell the lazy bastard to come here and tell me himself," Naruto said loudly.

"This is so troublesome," came a muffled voice from the compartment next door. "SHUT THE HELL UP, NARUTO!"

"Guys, I'm trying to read," Sakura said tiredly, walking in, her pink hair tousled. "Shut up."

"This is so boring," Naruto whined.

"Shut up, Naruto."

Silence.

"Anyway want to play shoji?"

"You suck, I'm not playing with you."

"Aww, but why?"

"Shut up, Naruto!"

Silence.

"I really wanna–"

"SHUT UP, NARUTO!"

Silence.

"Everyone is saying 'shut up' a lot," Ron whispered. About seven pairs of pissed off eyes focused on him.

"SHUT UP, RON!"

Hermione huffed and closed the newspaper.

"I can't read with all this going on," she said, tossing it onto the floor. Naruto started complaining again, which resulted in mass beatings, yelling and laughter. Plus quite a lot of people got squashed and stepped on in the limited space.

Harry smiled. He liked this; he liked the chaos that the compartment was in. He was happy that the ninja could forget their pain, even if was only for a train journey. And as he looked at all their faces, he suddenly realised how lucky he was.

* * *

><p>"I suppose you're going now, aren't you," Harry said heavily. The eight ANBU and the trio were standing at London station, all of them with similar gloomy faces.<p>

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we're going back home!"

"We've been homesick," Gaara admitted. "It'll be nice to be back in Suna."

"Yeah, I miss Konoha," Naruto said wistfully. "At least there, I can train more. My body has been dead tired this year, and all my muscles kept on hurting. It's 'cause I haven't exercised for a while because your school can't take it." He snorted.

"But we'll miss you," Sakura added. Harry noticed that Gaara had his hand around her waist. Both of them smiled at him warmly.

"You'll have to see Shino, won't you," Harry asked, directly his question mainly at Kiba. His face fell.

"Yes," Kiba said quietly. "He'll probably be… not himself. And… I still have to tell him about… Hinata."

Silence followed his words.

All of a sudden, Harry's scar prickled furiously. He grimaced.

"He's angry," Harry muttered, rubbing his scar, and effectively breaking the depressing atmosphere.

Sakura nodded. "He should be."

Naruto smiled faintly at him and said, "Don't worry, Harry. You're stronger than you think. I believe in you, so don't die on us."

"We all do," Tenten chirped, "so have fun while you can."

"Take care," Neji said, which was kind of funny, because he said it so seriously.

"Kick butt," Kiba said, grinning faintly.

"Woof!" Akamaru barked happily.

"Try not to hurt yourself," Ino said airily.

"Don't do anything troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.

"Remember what we taught you," Gaara reminded him.

"Oh, and all this advice goes to you two as well," Naruto said sternly, glaring at Hermione and Ron, who nodded hurriedly.

"You'll be okay travelling by Portkey, yeah?" Harry asked Gaara. The redhead shrugged.

"I'll manage," he said, "and if I don't, I always have medic nin to heal me." The scarred boy nodded, and tried to smile.

Harry stared at them all, trying to commit their faces to his memory, and to his embarrassment, a lump formed in his throat.

"I…" he began, but he couldn't continue. He didn't know what to say… there were too many things he wanted to voice.

Naruto smiled gently at him. "You," he said, "will do great. Defeat that snaky bastard for us. Work hard, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry whispered. He felt unhappy. He had gained nine new friends, and now they were leaving him, one was gone. So suddenly, the year was over.

"We'll see you around," Sakura said.

The shinobi glanced at the kunai-Portkey that Naruto held in his hand. It had begun to glow blue, and then they all touched a finger, or paw, to it.

"Any last words?" Neji asked. Harry opened, and then closed his mouth, and the opened it again.

"Get angry, get sad. It's okay to show them to the world," Harry said, his voice almost inaudible. "It shows that you're still human."

The shinobi all blinked, and then smiled at him. The Portkey glowed even brighter. All the ninja braced themselves for the tug on the navel.

"Oh, and remember," Naruto said, turning back to him, "to protect the people closest to you. That is your purpose in life. To protect your friends, your loved ones. Protect your precious people."

The Portkey's glow peaked, and as Harry, Ron and Hermione shielded their eyes, the shinobi of Konohagakure and Sunagakure disappeared.

End?

* * *

><p>okies, so explanations.<p>

hinata isn't actually dead. kabuto learned a technique off haku, a ninja from naruto's _land of waves_ arc. if you'll remember, sasuke apparently 'died' in that arc, when actually senbon just pierced a certain point on his neck, making it seem like he was dead. kabuto did the same thing, because he wanted a hyuuga for whatever sick reason. he managed to swap hinata's body with a fake one (he can do this quite quickly, as shown in the manga). in the sequel, hinata would have ended up working for kabuto/voldemort due to being influenced by the imperious curse. the sequel is supposed to show hinata's worth and strength as a ninja. she does eventually throw off the imperious curse, and she would secretly poison death eaters as she 'worked with' voldemort.

also, the ninja have been hinted to be sick throughout this story. this would have appeared again in the sequel, with the reason being that magic wears them down, because it opposes chakra. the ninja, having returned in the seventh book, would have gotten ill and they're unsure why.

in the sequel, all ninja would have returned by request of professor mcgonagall, and they would have split into three teams, with one team with the trio on their horcrux quest, another team stationed at hogwarts, and the last, being tenten, neji and kiba, would have ended up working for voldemort because they blame harry for hinata's apparent death. however, this is all a setup; naruto placed a memory jutsu on those three, essentially making them sleeper agents until he removed the jutsu and they would be on our side again. but the audience and harry don't know this, so it would have been like a plot twist thing.

i can't for the life of me remember what _jakka __maho no jutsu _was supposed to be. i introduced it in chapter 26, and i think i was going to use it in the sequel as a blocker to magic. the jutsu, once marked on a wizard, would last up to five years unactivated, and once it is activated, i think it was supposed to block, or at least weaken, the flow of magic for a certain period of time.

chouji, lee and shino would have appeared in the sequel as well, but they have a separate mission. they would go around, independent of everything else that happens, and plant 'pillars' at a certain location and then something would happen and i can't remember what i was thinking. also, they would aid in the 'marking' of death eaters using _jakka __maho no jutsu_.

that's all i can remember right now. and yeah.

so, as a final note, finally, you can take this fic off your alerts. this story is over and the sequel will fade away in my virtual folders. i apologise for being a dickhead and giving you mixed signals on this story, and that my writing is terrible and please, please this is not my current writing style now. i've liked to think i've improved.

thank you to everyone who supported me, because to fifteen-year-old-me, they were the best things i could have asked for. you have my love, and hopefully this story can like die quietly in the mass of hp/naruto fanfics out there that are so much better or something lol.

(also, **Squee the magical bunny** has adopted this story and she should be publishing it soon. give her a chance, and don't kill her if you don't like her version. she's a sweetheart.)

good bye for now. thanks for everything :)


	37. One Final Thing

I am so sorry that I'm dragging up this story yet again, but I'd just like to let you know that **Squee the magical bunny **has posted up her first chapter of the rewrite of _To Be Different_. Again, this is purely her version, no need for comparisons. If you don't like it, just click straight back out again.

Also, **Miko Potter** has been considering writing to sequel for this, if any of you are interested.

While I smooth over plot details and give them my version of events, I do not have control over either of these stories. What happens in them is up to their respective authors.

Now, finally, this story can die and sink back into the depths of the Naruto/Harry Potter crossovers.


End file.
